Picking up the Pieces
by LuminousFishy
Summary: When Jocelyn Morgenstern dies Clary is left to pick up the pieces, with a wayward brother and an unstable father. Clary has to rely on her love for her family to stay strong and keep them going. Struggling to fit in at school after her mother's death, she meets the friendly art teacher Luke and her fellow student Jace Wayland.
1. Bad Beginnings

**(Clary is 12 and Jonathon is 14)**

Jocelyn Morgenstern 1970 – 2009

There it was looming at me from that gravestone, just another punch in the gut to remind me it actually happened. I was standing around the gravestone, Jonathon was silent next to me and Valentine was somewhere else. None of us knew what to do; I couldn't even believe it was real. After a long funeral day I just wanted to go home, back to normal. I was struggling to hold all my emotions, wanting to cry and stay strong all at once.

"We should go, where's dad?" Jonathon asked quietly

"I don't know" I replied, I honestly didn't know. Dad came out the worst, he didn't speak. I haven't heard a word since he found out the news; he just seemed to curl in on himself. He showed no emotion, but I knew he'd cried every night since. He didn't go in their bedroom, the double bed was too big of a reminder. He slept on the sofa instead, I could hear him all the way from my bedroom at night. I wanted to go and comfort him, but he just seemed so desolate I didn't know how to react. He was the strong independent father I always knew, the headstone of the family. Now we just seemed to crumble. After finding him talking to a few relatives, we quickly left for home. It was eerily quiet at home, it was like no-one lived here at all.

The few days that followed after where quiet and uneventful. I wanted to go back to school, to normal. Instead I stayed at home trying to distract myself, finding consolation in drawing. I'd draw my emotion, letting it pour out onto the paper. Dad sat and stared into nothing, Jonathon was never around. I don't know where he went, I just knew he wasn't around. No-one made food; I hadn't eaten in at least a day. That was it, right then decided to take charge. If Jonathon was going to desert us and Dad was going abandon us. I would do my very best to make mum proud and actually get on with life.

"Dad, we need to eat. Is there any food?" I tentatively asked him, he sat unmoving from the couch.

"I don't know" He said, I was surprised taken aback; at least this was a start. I checked the fridge and the cupboards. The cupboards were fine, but the fridge was full of gone-off food. Eurgh! I binned everything and grabbed money from dad's wallet on the side.

"I'm going to get some food" I stated, shutting the door carefully behind me. I stood outside the store, this is it I thought. I had a small amount of fun picking out all the food. I had no idea how to shop, what to get or how much to get. I figured I did pretty well. I paid the woman at the till and dragged all the shopping bags home, frustrated and tired by the time I reached it. I got home and made spaghetti, I smiled at the result. I'm not gonna lie, this I had some talent at. It looked really tasty, especially after what seemed like years. I made 3 plates, only two got eaten. I put Jonathon's and the leftovers in the fridge. He'd eat it later.

"Thanks Clary" I turned round startled, Dad was on his feet smiling. It was a sad smile, but a smile nonetheless. I smiled back. I went to my room and wrote my third letter to mum, I'd started writing them. It was a good way to deal with the pain, I'd tell her about my day. After I was done I went to the living room to watch TV. Our apartment had a kitchen, one bathroom, my room, Jonathon's room and my pare- no, Dad's room. I bit back the tears as I plonked down onto the sofa, settling in to watch something.

Dad emerged from the bathroom looking exhausted.

"You should get some sleep" I advised, seeing how he wasn't looking after himself. He seemed to agree, getting up and heading towards his bedroom. I held my breath, he opened it and immediately stumbled back. He seemed to shatter into a million pieces, he tore away and into my bedroom. I sighed, he could stay there and sleep if he wanted too. It was my turn to sleep on the sofa, I went to the cabinet and pulled out a blanket. Settling down onto the sofa to sleep, I tired and tried but I couldn't. Jonathon was still out there, it must've been around 1:00pm. He was only 14 for goodness sake, anything could happen. I got more worked-up, getting worried and worried. Until I heard a lazy thump at the door, I shot up and opened it.

Jonathon immediately fell onto me; I stumbled back trying to push him away. I eventually managed and shut the front door.

"Clary…" He slurred, he smelled disgusting and looked it too. He was obviously drunk out of his mind. I was scared, I'd never seen anyone drunk before.

"Bathroom…" He managed again, hurriedly I dragged him to it. He threw up all he had into the toilet. Finally he groaned, slumping unconscious.

"Jonathon" I said, shaking him. He didn't wake up, I stifled a cry. I couldn't just leave my brother on the bathroom floor. Hesitantly I stood, I tired lifting him. He was two years older than me and a boy, what chance did I have. I tried and tried, but it never worked. After ages, I settled for dragging him out into the hall and eventually getting him to the bedroom. This was it, I heaved with all I had and he lifted up, I couldn't hold him for long and I regrettably dumped him down. I took his shoes off and tucked him in. I couldn't help, but kiss his forehead, he looked so innocent as he slept.

I left the room, tears streaking down my face. So this was it, this was my family now. A widowed, broken man, an underage drunk son and a daughter struggling to keep everything together. What ever happened to the glorious Morgenstern's? We were always happy, with loving parents and obedient children. Dad had made sure that we were the best we could be, and always independent and well prepared. I even knew self defence, just so dad could know I was always safe. It was hard to see that now, but whatever he does I will still love him for those happy twelve years. I finally slept with the images of ice and sun cream holidays.


	2. Morbid Memories

_I was walking along that dusty alleyway, being hurried along by my mother. We had just sold another amazing painting to Magnus Bane, he was our favourite buyer. He appreciated the originality of mum's imagination and skill. We had just left and were making our way home through the back streets. Mum knew they were dangerous, but we had to have some source of income. Suddenly out of nowhere there was a shriek, I stopped in my tracks. I looked down an alleyway and saw the most terrible thing, a girl being attacked by an evil man with a knife. I screamed and he turned around, a psychotic smile on his face. If a man could be a demon, it would definitely be him. Mum dragged me along; I obeyed trying to keep up. The man shouted, we ran faster, running for our lives. I couldn't keep up, I tripped, the man ripped me up onto my feet. Terrified I squirmed away from him, he sneered and twirled the knife in his hand. My mum screamed and threw herself at him, he staggered back with the force. Not before he could shove the knife directly threw my mum's heart. She fell onto her knees, I screamed and screamed. People looked out of windows curious, the man swore and ran away. Shocked people ran to my aid, I lay on my mum crying and crying. Begging her to wake-up, the paramedics were called, the ambulance came, along with those living changing words "It's too late". I couldn't listen to them, I wouldn't, they were wrong. She wasn't dead, she couldn't be…_

I was suddenly pulled away from the dream, screaming. The scream echoed through the house, for a while I was terrified. Frozen in place, the house was freezing and eerily quiet. I waited, no-one came. Of course they didn't, still…I'd never screamed awake before, I'd always imagined my parents running to my aid. Calming me down, it didn't happen. There was no relief from the nightmares, I didn't make it up, it was more of a memory than a nightmare. I managed to cry myself to sleep, no-one cared anymore. I was the only member of my family not going crazy with grief, or was I? I didn't even know anymore. I woke-up when the sun was too bright; I sat-up rubbing my searing headache. I force myself off onto my feet, grabbing a glass of water. I saw a note on the side,

_**Hey Clary,**_

_**I've gone to work, maybe you two should go to school tomorrow. Have a new start,**_

_**Dad**_

I smiled, so he was picking himself up, good for him. I made myself breakfast, a full English fry-up. I placed a plate on a tray, grabbed some painkillers and took the tray in to Jonathon. He was still asleep, so I left it on the side. I left the room, standing in the corridor. I closed my eyes, counted five steps forward, turned and opened my eyes again. I was face to face with mum's room, I took a deep breath and opened the door. It was so empty and undisturbed. I was overwhelmed with pent up emotion, I clambered onto the bed, curled up and sobbed my heart out. I couldn't stop, this was the last thing mum touched and I revelled in the lingering scent. I felt the bed sink behind me, I sat-up wiping eyes. Jonathan wrapped his arms around me, I melted into the hug, very glad for human contact. He stared around the room silently, with tears rolling down his cheeks. I stopped my hysterics and we both sat there. Not sure what to do or say.

"Where did you go last night?" I asked, finally breaking the silence

"Pandemonium" he said "it's a club" He clarified, sensing my confusion.

"Oh" I said, not sure what to say.

He got up and left. I stared around the room. I decided to collect everything that held importance to me. I made a pile of photos, figures, the wedding ring, postcards, letters, paintings etc. on the bed. I moved all the stuff out and into my room. I took once last glance around the room, not planning on entering again. I saw the glint of a necklace under the bed, frowning I picked it up. It was a simple cross, my used to wear it when she dragged us to church on Sundays. I put the necklace on and vowed never to take it off. Once last wistful glance later and I shut the door.


	3. Bittersweet Birthday

The rest of the days seemed to go by in the same way as the last did. School was hard, everyone stared or looked sympathetic I didn't need that right now. I wanted normality. My only bliss was my friends, half of which acted really awkward around me. I hate it. Dad went to work, as usual but he was always exhausted. I still cooked, cleaned and looked after everything. Jonathon now made clubbing a habit, it was his way of coping, so I let him. I still wrote my letters to mum, here's the one I'm writing at the moment:

_**Hey mum, **_

_**Dad's taken up drinking; he's still sober most of the time. I'm worried about him, maybe he'll do something stupid. We're running shorter on money, I'm sorry but I had to sell one of your paintings. It was the last thing I wanted to do, but dad's work has cut his pay. They noticed he was underperforming, I guess his boss isn't a widow. I'm still doing most of the house work, I don't mind it's the least I can do. And anyway I discovered I liked shopping and cooking. Look at your daughter growing-up! Someone has to anyway…Jonathon has grown-up the wrong way. His regular clubbing has gotten so much worse, maybe he's taking drugs? I don't know anymore. He's shunned all his school friends, I think he's met "cooler" street friends. I hope your having fun wherever you are and,**_

_**I hope Heaven's treating you well! **_

_**Clary**_

That's basically my life at the moment. Dad is constantly drinking, yeah it got worse as his boss makes him work harder than ever. About a year passed of gradual deterioration, dad slowly pulling himself apart with each bottle. Jonathon still is partying, making new friends and either inviting them around or going to there's. His friends scared me, he turned 15 recently and he hangs around with 16 year olds like its no big deal. I've managed to hold out, getting lost in art and the internet. I turn into a completely different person, when I am not dealing with any real life problems. School is worse, the stares and snickers have stopped, but it still feels like there is a giant rift in between me and my friends. My dead mum being that big elephant in the corner. I still wanted to laugh with them, but somehow I found that harder and harder. I became the outsider of my very own friendship group, I cared but I pretended not to, Sitting alone at lunch doing some art, listening to music, doing whatever I could to tune out the harsh reality. My thirteenth birthday passed, it was no big deal, no party. I didn't mind cake and family was all I wanted, even though I'd made the cake myself. Dad and Jonathon managed to fork out enough money to get me an art set and a new phone. I couldn't thank them enough, I wanted to hug them, but hugs weren't something we did anymore. I didn't want to think about where the money came from, but I couldn't help but pray that another painting hadn't gone missing.

When it came mum's birthday, we all dealt with the sorrow our own separate way. Dad and Jonathon went out to who knows where. I made mum a cake and sat round the table. The silence seemed to suffocate me, I hurriedly left a note, put the cake away and ran as far away as possible. I ran and ran, I subconsciously knew where I was going, and I didn't try to stop myself. I stopped at the graveyard gates, catching my breath, face probably puffy from crying. I didn't care, I let my feet drag me towards that special spot. I sat under the tree her grave sat under, I realised I hadn't gotten any flowers. I wanted to kick myself instead I just sat, I don't know how long I spoke to it. After what must have been an hour, I heard someone clear their throat. I hastily stood-up; thankfully my tears were dry by now. I saw a boy, round about the same age as me; he had a bunch of flowers in his hand that were golden. Just like his eyes and hair I thought, it was true. He had wavy blonde /golden hair and just as golden eyes. I had to admit he was pretty cute, but then he was standing in a graveyard. Not really where I planned for a first date.

"Err…Sorry if I interrupted something, but I noticed you didn't have any flowers." He said, obviously nervous to talk to me.

"No, no that's fine. Thank you" I said, finding my voice. He held them out to me and I took them and placed them on the gravestone. We stood in really awkward silence for a while, I couldn't help it but make the awkward turtle sign in the air. He chuckled, I smiled.

"So…who are you here for?" I asked, not wanting to invade his privacy, but it was a good conversation starter.

"My parents – I'm adopted" he added, "The name's Jace by the way" Sticking out his hand.

"Clary" I said shaking his hand "I'm here for my mum, it's her birthday today" He nodded, acknowledging the importance of today.

"Are you planning on staying here all day, or do you want to…" Jace asked

"Yes! Not to the first part I mean. I need to leave here" I replied, maybe a bit too eager. We walked around the rest of the place, it was really beautiful actually. My hand kept itching to draw it. I learnt a lot about Jace, he lived in the north of the city, coincidentally as far away from me as possible. He was 14; we both had the same birthday. He lived with his adoptive parents Maryse and Robert, also with his siblings Isabelle, Alec and little Max. He went to Idris High, I went to St Xavier's. We had walked full circle when I saw a boy with blue eyes and black hair call Jace's name. He smiled apologetically, said goodbye and left with the boy I presumed to be Alec. I smiled to myself, maybe things will be looking up.


	4. Fragile Family

**Thanks for following and reviewing! **** I will do my best to keep on uploading for you! (and I apologise for my spelling and grammar, I'll have to check better next time) The song that pretty much sums up the beginning for ya is Bad day by Chester See and the Side effects cast.**

**Review responses:**

**Guest: Thanks for liking it! Yeah it's really sad how she has to deal with it, but I liked the idea of a more realistic family situation **

**greygirl2358: Me too! This isn't something I've ever experienced, but my heart also goes out to anyone who has/is experiencing **

**(2 years later and Clary is 16)**

To my surprise a few things did improve. Most importantly I gained the bestest (**Now a word, mes amigos) **friend ever! I remember browsing through the manga section at Forbidden Planet, when a dorky boy ran into me. His name was Simon and after learning he was going to be going to school at St Xavier's, we became inseparable. Now there were not one, but two loners together in my spot! None of us minded though, Simon didn't really want to be popular and neither did I. We talked about anything and everything, well _almost _everything, there was one thing I still couldn't tell him. I didn't plan to either, he knew enough about me. Simon came up with the idea of calling dad "Valentine" when he was drunk and only "Dad" when he sober. I hate to admit it, but I called him Valentine most of the time. Simon doesn't like my home life one bit, but he thankfully understands that my family are really important.

He supports me, but if Valentine or Jonathon steps out of line I have to tell him immediately. I called Jonathon "Jon" when he was actually being a brother, but…only very occasionally. He comes home to eat, sleep and argue with dad, he's not there at all usually. It's always me and Valentine (or Dad if I was lucky), Valentine was mostly a ticking time bomb. I make one wrong move and BAM he's yelling like I've personally wronged him. He also lost his inhibitions when he was drunk, so the things he usually wouldn't say would all come pouring out of his mouth. As much as his words stung, he never actually physically abused me, for that I was grateful. Simon is convinced that it's only a matter of time, however I don't _think _he'd stoop that low. I mostly kept myself to myself, doing all the chores that my lazy family expect me to. Anyway if I didn't the shouting would be worse, I'd become a "failure" and "disappointment". I'm also fairly sure I've been "disowned" more times than I can count. I always spend as much time away as possible, only going home when Simon couldn't hang out, if I had too much homework or when the chores needed doing.

As bad as things are I didn't like complaining, I had Simon and life _could_ have been a lot worse. On the subject of worse, Dad has been fired from work. He has quite a colourful history of work, he doesn't appear to do the same job for more than a few years. He was a front line soldier when he met my mum, medals of honour and bravery on display for the whole world to see. After he had Jonathon he resigned to become a committed father, after that he became a clergyman and then a technician. Until recently he was a business manager, but I guess that fell through. He missed the army I could tell, he even signed up again. Jonathon wouldn't here the end of it, they argued for hours and I was glad; I didn't like the idea anymore than he did. In the end it didn't matter, he didn't pass the tests, his body was out of shape and he wasn't mentally stable. After being fired he hit the gym harder, convincing himself that they would accept him if he gained a few pounds. He was so distracted by working out and drinking that I had to become the only reliable source of income. Fortunately for us I had turned 16 a while ago, I worked my butt off over the summer trying to pay all the mounting bills. Work never helped my mood; I hated serving at that darned restaurant "Taki's". I frequently lost my temper more than planned, earning louder shouting and more regular stand-off's with Jonathon. He was more of a threat, I doubted he had any common decency left; hitting a girl wouldn't face him. To my relief I usually scraped through them unscathed.

I didn't see Jace again, although I visited mum every birthday. I still wrote to her, it was my way of coping through each day. It was a way of ensuring that I still thought of her every day, but I didn't have to constantly be depressed. Simon's took care of that for me! Living without mum is tough, especially when I look in the mirror everyday to see her staring back at me. I hated looking so similar to her, it made everything so much worse. Being the only girl (and a teenage girl at that) in the house is also tough, I've had to fluff my way through too many awkward situations. I didn't have any girlfriends to complain with and, for some reason, Simon would rather not know about every single detail. **(Ya know what I'm talking about, right?)**

Everything was as jolly as usual (**insert sarcasm here), **Dad (yes, it was a good day) was at the head of the table, Jonathon was on his right and I was sitting on his left. I had just cooked the most delicious pie and was about to get up and clear up when Jonathon put his hand up. I think it meant something like clary-stop-what-your-doing-I-have-something-"impor tant"-to-say. So I curiously sat back down.

"Dad I want to ask you a favour" He said, it was more of a statement than a question

"What!?" He snapped back, an accusing look on his face

"I don't think me or Clary are doing very well at St Xavier's and I think in our best interests that we should move to another school" He calmly stated. What on earth was he playing at? We were doing fine – I was doing fine! I didn't need this right now!

"What!? Jonathon how could you? Im doing fine-!" I exploded at him. He gave me the scariest glare he could.

"What was your last Maths grade then?" Jonathon spat. He must've seen my report; I had thrown it in the bin as soon as I got it. Maths was my worst grade, I hadn't wanted dad to see, but the only subjects I was actually doing well in was art and music.

"Since when did _you _care about our education!?" I yelled, I was not having this.

"Clarissa, what was your maths grade?" Dad asked sternly, he was doing the Clarissa thing again. Oh how I hated that name.

"F…" I muttered, barely audible. He seemed to erupt like a volcano, towering above me, face red.

"DO YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR EDUCATION AT ALL! I RAISED TWO RESPECTFUL, HARD WORKING CHILDREN AND YOU THROW IT BACK IN MY FACE. YOUR MOTHER WOULD BE SO ASHAMED! I AM AN HONOURED SERGEANT OF THE FITH REGIMENT AND I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS FAILURE!" I flinched, he was terrifying. It made it so much worse knowing that he wasn't even drunk. He really meant this.

I hated Jonathon, he was just using this to his advantage, he even picked a good day to turn everything sour! I stood up to match him.

"HONOURED SERGEANT, MY ARSE! YOU GO OUT, GET DRUNK AND LEAVE ME TO CLEAN UP YOUR MESS. I WORK SO HARD TO KEEP HIS FAMILY TOGETHER AND I MAKE ONE MISTAKE AND NOW IT'S ALL MY FAULT! DO YOU KNOW WHERE HE GOES EVERY NIGHT? "I point to Jonathon, who has a smirk like this was all planned. I wanted to slap that off his face so bad. "NO YOU DON'T! AND NEITHER DO I? SEE ANYTHING FISHY ABOUT THAT! MUM WOULDN'T BE ASHAMED AT ONE MATHS GRADE, SHE'D BE ASHAMED AT BOTH OF YOU" I practically screamed at him. Once those words were out of my mouth, I wanted to immediately take them back. All my pent up aggression seemed to come flooding back to me. Dad's face seemed to flicker a million emotions at once, anger, hurt and a pinch of shame.

He surprised me by stalking up to me, I instinctively backed away. Until my back was pressed up against the wall, he came right up to me, I could almost see the steam coming from his ears.

"You need to learn some respect!" He spat, voice full of venom. He lifted his fist and at the last minute he angled it so it went straight through the wall. I was terrified, he had come so close to hitting me. He turned around to address Jonathon.

"Which school did you have in mind?" He asked

"Idris High, I heard they have very high results" He casually spewed out his lies "and better discipline" he added to make a point. I gave him my best glare; if looks could kill he would certainly not be looking so smug. Dad turned back to me, I looked away in defeat. I knew his mind was made up. He lifted my chin-up, forcing me to look at him.

"Good, I'll transfer you two immediately. Maybe some people will learn more respect" He said looking me in the eyes. After what seemed like a millennia, he released me and walked away back into his bedroom. Once he'd gone I turned to rant at Jonathon,

"What's so good about Idris High then?" I seethed, he just smiled and put his legs up on the table.

"Well, half my new friends go there, it only seems fair that I can go to school with them. Dad was pretty easy to persuade and maybe you'll gain more loser friends there" He made it seem so casual, like it was nothing at all. It wasn't _nothing_, it meant leaving Simon, it meant going to a completely new place and becoming the outsider again.

"I hate you" I told him, it took a lot for me to say that. Deep down I still loved _Jon, _but Jonathon was a bitter disappointment.

It was hard to go to sleep that night; I had so many things running round my head. How would I tell Simon? How would he take it? I was also upset at dad. He had said those things when he was still sober, that hit home too hard. He was always calm and collective, as Dad he had never gone of the rails like that (at least not without 5 beers first). It shocked me, I had been blaming the drink for too long. I had to face up to the fact that Dad wouldn't go back to the same man I knew and loved.

Telling Simon didn't actually matter in the end, apparently his little sister Maureen was going to start there and his mum forcing Simon to change schools so he could protect her from bullies. Simon had been just as worried at telling me and in the end it worked out perfectly. I still refused to talk to Jonathon, it annoyed me how he controlled everything and even took amusement in the argument that me and dad had.

I was going to start the new year at Idris High tomorrow and it was going to be a very, _very_ long day .


	5. Newcomer

BEEP

BEEEEEP

BEEEEEEEEEEP

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP

THWACK! I slammed my hand down onto the alarm clock, the beeping eventually stopped, after a bit on fumbling on my part. I lay back down, very tempted to fall back asleep. It was so comfortable…NOPE! I forced myself to stand-up, it took a lot more effort than it sounds! I could not be late for my first day at this new school. New School, those two words sounded absolutely awful. At least I had Simon there with me. I glanced at the clock, he would be here in an hour. I took a very long shower and had a cooked breakfast (why not make an effort?). I decided to wear my favourite red and black checked flannel shirt that was rolled up to my elbows and unbuttoned with my black tank top underneath. I also wore my mum's necklace and my trusty bracelets that I always wore. Each one was from a different place, so it was like a permanent reminder. I was butt-naked from top down…Joking! I wore my black skinny jeans and red converses. My hair was wild and curling down to my shoulders, I brushed it (honest!), but no-one could tame this mane! I grabbed my pre-packed shoulder bag and studied myself in the mirror. I think I looked alright, nothing compared to mum but what can ya do? I won't have to look at myself anyway, so why should I care? It was 7:58 and school started at 9:00, Simon was going to be here in a few minutes and I wanted to be early to get my schedule. Jonathon hadn't emerged from his den yet, he had a hangover no doubt and was going to make a bad first impression. I weighed out my options, try and wake him up or let him be late. I could just wake him up, but when he has a hangover it takes more than a shake. I could always pour cold water on him…That _would _wake him up and he _does _deserve it.

YOLO, I thought as I filled a jug up with cold water. He will probably kill me and then eat the remains, but it's worth it. I tip-toe up to his bed, here goes nothing! I pour it all out on to his head, he splutters and sits up really fast. He reaches out, I escape his clutches and run for the door.

"CLARISSA!" He yells, I keep running and open the door.

"You're going to be late!" I reply, slamming the door shut behind me. I run out and crash into Simon.

"Run!" I shout, I don't stop as I grab his hand and drag him along with me. Once we're a decent few streets away, I stop to catch me breath.

"What was that for!?" Simon says through ragged breaths. I slump against the wall, only now noticing Maureen looking a bit shocked. She's so adorable, her giant bag on her shoulders and her long blonde hair flowing over her shoulders. She looks up to Simon like he's some kind of pop star, it's really sweet and she goes to all his "concerts". She was a target for most bullies; Simon and I try to protect her as best we can. It would be easier now we go to the same school.

"Oh, hey Mo. Sorry about that." I apologise, then I turn to Simon "Jonathon had a hangover and since he wanted to go to school so badly, I figured he wouldn't want to be late. So I poured cold water on him." Simon looked at me like I was crazy.

"What?" I ask.

"Are you crazy!? He's gonna kill you!" Simon says, he makes it sound like I eternally wronged my brother. Although to Jonathon, I probably have.

"Yeah I know, that's why we ran." I try and pass it of as nothing big. I'd rather not think about it to be honest. I reach out and fix Simon's glasses, they had become wonky when he'd run.

"We should get going" Maureen piped up.

We set-off on our adventure, dodging taxies and hopping on and off the subway. Why did the school have to be so far away? We managed to get to school at exactly 8:49, that gave us 11 minutes to get ourselves sorted and into class. The school was humongous and locating the office took up most of our time. The office was nothing special, a small plain room with a nice lady at the desk. With a simple "welcome to Idris High", she handed out our schedules and we were left to find our classes. At 8:58 we managed to drop off Mo at her first class, Simon and I made our way to History. My schedule read "History-Mr Starkweather-Room 126". By the time we made it, we were five minutes late. As soon as we opened the door, all heads turned our way. It was so embarrassing and I didn't know what to do.

"Ah, these are our new students" He looked down at a piece of paper "Clarissa Morgenstern and Simon Lewis. You may take the seats at the back" He indicated to the only empty seats at the back.

It was very awkward travelling down the aisle between the rows. I could feel people judging me and Simon. Once we made it, I plonked my bag down and settled in for a long lesson. It didn't take long for me to get bored of Mr Starkwwather's droning, monotone voice. Besides, we'd already covered the topics at , this was just revision for me. I found myself staring out of the window until Simon nudged me, I reluctantly turned away from the window. Everyone was staring at me expectantly.

"Miss Morgenstern if you could concentrate. I think you'll find the topic more interesting than that tree." Mr. Starkweather's stern voice said.

"It looks rather old and historic don't you think? I personally like the way it resembles much of world history, which is boring and unimportant" I retorted. I always had a knack for answering back, most of the time it wasn't planned. I just hate people trying to control me. The atmosphere in the room was tense, it was so thick you could cut it with a knife. I saw one guy lean back into his chair and look at me with an interested expression. He had black hair and dark eyes. Sebastian. I've seen him around the house many times, along with Jonathon's other lap dogs. Mr Starkweather just looked annoyed and a bit flabbergasted.

"Most people would want to give a _good_ first impression. Now tell me, Clarissa, as you seem to have been paying _so much_ attention. What caused the economic great depression?" He asked, he sounded smug, as though he expected me not to know. To bad I did.

"The Wall Street Crash in 1929" I answered, turning the geek on. Starkweather didn't have anything to say to that, so he just left it and carried on teaching. I gained a few more curious looks from other classmates.

"Come on Clary, it's only the first lesson. You couldn't help yourself could you?" Simon asked, exasperated.

"Of course not! He seems too full of himself!" I replied.

After History we had double English. English was good, the teacher seemed really nice and fun. After that we had Biology, my least favourite subject, because come on who wants to dissect frogs? The teacher was Miss Penhallow. I was seated in the back next to a pretty girl with long black hair. The lesson started off with some boring stuff about Micro-organisms.

"So, what's your name?" The girl asked me.

"Clary" I replied, she seemed friendly enough. It was a bit weird talking to another girl though, I was used to me and Simon.

"My name is Isabelle, but you can call me Izzy! Is Clary short for something?"

"Yeah, Clarissa" I said, whilst taking down the notes from the board.

"Clarissa, as in Clarissa Morgenstern?" Her question confused me, did Morgenstern have some kind of reputation now? Not surprising really, judging on who my brother was.

"Yeah…and?"

"I heard about you"

"You did?"

"Yeah, you mouthed off to Starkweather. You're also Jonathon Morgenstern's sister."

"Wow, that escalated quickly, but how do you know Jonathon?"

"For starters he's really hot. And secondly he's been hanging round the school for about a year now. He hangs about with all the "populars", taking any girl who takes a second glance. He has also started a _lot _of fights with my brothers, mainly Jace."

"For pudding, Jonathon is _not_ hot! You should stay away from him, he's no good. Why does he fight with Jace?" I knew that name, from somewhere…alas stupid brain won't come up with anything!

"Oh I don't know, man stuff. I do stay away from Jonathan, I hate guys like him. He must have slept with half the school already and he only officially joined today."

"Yeah, I wouldn't put that past him" I had just managed to get my sentence out before, the teacher shouted for us to keep quiet. So I whispered.

"Is this better? Gosh, she has a temper. You can practically see the steam coming from her ears. Quick we better shovel more coal, I think she's running out of steam!"

"Quick, Quick. Aww no I think she's lost it!" Izzy replied. We started giggling and didn't stop until the teacher gave us a warning. We both just seemed to click together, by the end of the lesson we were running out of train jokes.

"Hey I got one!" Izzy says as we walk to lunch, she said me and Simon could sit with her lot.

"What?"

"What is the difference between a school teacher and a steam locomotive?"

"I don't know"

"The school teacher tells you to spit out your gum, while the locomotive says "Choo Choo Choo!" Izzy seemed really proud of herself. I didn't immediately understand the joke, but it made me laugh anyway. I sounded like a dying seal with issues, while Izzy actually had a decent laugh.

"How about …How do you find a missing train? Follow the tracks!" I say.

"Okay, we should probably stop now, these are getting too corny"

"I'm offended" I say, with a hand over my heart.

Simon chose that moment to come bounding over, managing to trip on thin air in the process. He toppled down and his books flew everywhere. I laughed as me and Isabelle helped pick up his books.

"Your too clumsy, one day it'll be the death of you" I tease.

"That would be one awful way to kick the bucket. If I die before I discover my secret superpower, I'll be very disappointed" He replies as we walk to our lockers.

"You do know you'll probably end up being noodle man or flyboy" Izzy puts in. Simon looked like he just noticed she was there, he did a double take. I had to admit, she was _very _pretty, way prettier than me. She was wearing high heels and a cute little dress. An outfit I would find very hard to spend the day in.

"Simon meet Izzy. Izzy meet Simon." I introduce them.

"Hullo" Simon said.

"Hi" She replied.

We reached our lockers and I stuffed all my books into the cavern-that-I-can-call mine.

Izzy lead us through the school, going through my schedule and naming the classrooms as we passed them on our way. We finally made it outside onto a nice green area, with dozens of benches dotted around.

"Sorry, I forgot to mention. We usually take a packed lunch, as we like to sit outside together" Izzy apologises, remembering that we were new.

"That's okay, I've got my sandwiches" Simon claims, holding up his bag. Izzy lead us to a table with two guys already sitting there, a blonde one was sitting on top of the bench, whilst the other black haired boy looked like he was being interrogated by the other. As we neared closer, I could make out more details. We stopped at the table, I knew I had recognised the name Jace. It wasn't very common and I almost kicked myself that I'd forgotten. Idris High, of course I would meet him there! He even had the same golden hair and as he turned his attention to us, I could see he had the same golden eyes. But woah had he just gained a 10/10 in hotness points. Hotness points? I promptly told my brain to shut-up.

"Hello?" Jace greeted, although it sounded more like a question.

"This is Simon and Clary. Guys, these are my _annoying _brothers Jace and Alec"

"Wow. It's nice know you think so much of me little sis" Jace replied, inserting the sarcasm with skills to admire. If I didn't know Jace's story already, I wouldn't have thought that they were related. Both Alec and Izzy had straight black hair and shocking blue eyes. Whilst Jace was the complete opposite. Jace turned is attention to me, recognition showing in his eyes.

"I believe we've met already. I thought you went to 's?" Oh goodness, he actually remembered that much about me.

"I did, but my brother wanted to move here"

"Oh, I see" Jace promptly hopped off the table and sat down on the actual bench. Simon gave me a very quizzical look, I gave him a look to say I'd tell him later.


	6. Abounding Acquaintences

**Thank you lovely fishies for Favouriting, Following and Reviewing. Special thanks to greygirl2358! And to soccerlover21, I shall try and uploads as much as possible and it's great that you love it! In the last chapter the word 's seemed to have been deleted for some reasons, apologies for that!**

The group were really nice. We felt a bit awkward sitting right in the middle of Izzy's friends, but they all seemed welcoming enough. Two more friends called Maia and Jordan came to join the group. Simon looked uncomfortable until Jordan noticed his "Diggy Diggy Hole" T-shirt and they began a very deep conversation about GTA5. Izzy was talking to Maia about something, I was trying to listen, but I got lost about five minutes ago. Jace was doing some last minute maths homework, after Alec reminded him that it was due today. He was concentrating really hard and the sunlight seemed to reflect off him, giving him a glow. He suddenly looked up and caught me staring, he winked at me. I blushed and looked away. Alec was staring at something over my shoulder, I shuffled around to follow his gaze. He was looking at a rather flamboyantly dressed Asian boy with very sparkly hair. Maybe Alec was gay? Probably judging by the way he stared at him. I glanced over at the rest of the school, there was a wide open field to my left with a bunch of guys playing football. To my right was the rest of the school building, a few boys were lurking about flirting with the girls by the canteen. I recognised them as Jonathon's gang; sure enough Jonathon had a very exotically dressed girl attached at his hip.

He looked in my direction and gave me a menacing glare. I gulped, I was dreading being alone with him tonight. All of a sudden I was regretting that little thing with the water this morning.

"What's your deal with Morgenstern?" Jace asked, I shuffled around to face him.

"Unfortunately, he's my brother" I admitted

"Ooh tough luck man" Said Alec, who was no longer looking at the other guy.

"Yeah, he wasn't _always _like this" I said, trying in vain to defend Jonathon.

"For some reason I find that hard to imagine." Jace said. I just shrugged. Jace went back to his revision and Alec resumed the wistful staring. I pulled my notebook out of my bag and started sketching an angel. I was beginning to feel proud of it; it was my mum with her fiery hair and giant coppery wings. I didn't have to use the rubber once and that's a record! I smiled at the finished result.

"Can I see?" Izzy asked.

"Sure" I said, passing the notepad to her.

"Wow, this is awesome. Is that you?" She wondered.

"No, it's my mum" I sighed; it felt weird saying it out loud.

"Oh, cool" Izzy replied. Jace leaned over and snatched my notepad from Izzy.

"Hey!" She exclaimed, annoyed. He took a good look at the picture, he smiled to himself. It seemed to say that he understood why I drew it. I doubted he did though.

"It's really good" Jace complimented me.

"Thanks" I replied, I always find it awkward when people compliment my art. He then proceeded to flick through the rest of the book.

"But I'm disappointed there are no pictures of me in here. If you ever need a nude model, I'd be happy to volunteer." He smirked and threw it back at me.

"Err…okay" I say, shoving the notepad back into my back.

"Clary, do you wanna come to Pandemonium with us next weekend?" Izzy asked.

"No, sorry" I hastily answered, there was no way on earth I was going to go clubbing anywhere that Jonathon has been. Heck, there was no way I would ever go clubbing. I refused to even drink, I was sick of dealing with my drunken family enough it is.

"I doubt Clary even knows what Pandemonium is" Jace said.

"'Course I do, it's a stupid club" I reply, making my best disgusted face.

"You can't call it stupid if you've never been there before" Jace pointed out.

"For your information, I think anywhere Jonathon spends his time is stupid. So I can count pandemonium into the category" I retorted, actually getting a bit angry now.

"Yes, but-" Izzy cut him off.

"If Clary doesn't want to go, she doesn't want to go. But you are missing out"

"I really don't mind" I assured her, hoping I didn't sound too rude.

"We could always do a movie night this weekend for you though! It'd be so much fun! We could all go have a sleepover at my house, Simon included." Izzy squealed, excited.

"Oh boy! We could have manicures and do each other's hair!" Jace mocked her sarcastically.

"Shut up Jace. What do you think Clary?" She asked. She looked so excited and I didn't want to burst her bubble. I sighed.

"Sure why not? I've got nothing better to do"

"I can't wait" Izzy exclaimed, clapping her hands together. The bell rung and we all reluctantly made our way back into the building.

Jace volunteered to walk with me to art, as it was also his next lesson. We walked in awkward silence. We waded through seas of people; the school was so big I would have easily got lost by myself. A girl came bounding up to us, Jace audibly groaned. She was obviously the plastic type, all makeup and fake nails.

"What do you want Kaelie?" He asked.

"Only you Jacey-wacey" She flirted, I inwardly cringed. She completely ignored my presence.

"Don't you have another guy to pester? I heard Sebastian is still single." He said, pushing past her. I couldn't help but smirk at her as I scrabbled to catch-up to Jace. She turned around and made a very obscene gesture.

"Jacey-wacey? Seriously?" I scoffed.

"I don't understand why she won't leave me alone. I've rejected her way too many times"

"Yunno, I would've thought you'd like those kind of girls" I commented, he swivelled round and raised an eyebrow.

"You have got to be kidding me? If I went out with her, I'd probably get AIDs or something. And she probably has more make-up than bodyweight on her face right now."

"Okay, point proven" I said. I didn't like wearing make-up, I never did. I prefer the natural, fresh out of bed look. Besides, I never had a mum to give me fashion tips and I always hang out with Simon.

"Well this is it" he said, as he entered the classroom. I followed through behind him.

"Afternoon Jace, it's nice of you to be early" A male voice said, I couldn't see the owner.

"Well I just love art so much" He said, sauntering through the empty room and taking a seat at the front.

I turned around to see the teacher. He was a middle-age man with grey eyes, lots of beardyness **(apparently that's not a word, it's very disappointing) **and a kind face. I recognised him immediately.

"Luke?" I exclaimed, shocked.

"Clary!" He said, jumping up from his desk and enveloping me in a hug. Luke was mum's old friend; he was kind of like an uncle to me. I hadn't heard from him since mum died. Jace cleared his throat. We sprang apart.

"Erm, sorry. It's meant to be Mr Graymark. Teacher protocol." He said, sheepishly.

"Oh, ok. It's just been so long"

"It has hasn't it?"

"How is the bookstore going?" I asked

"Good actually, you could come visit after school."

"Yeah, that'd be nice"

More people came through the door, so we had to stop our conversation and return to teacher-student. Mr Graymark was a very laid back teacher, he gave us our project and let us get on with it. Occasionally coming over if we needed help, he mostly read a book at the front of the classroom. I was really glad he was here, maybe I could spend some more time at the bookstore to talk to Luke and stay away from home. I _really _didn't want to go home today. Our project was on mythology, so I decided to draw demigods fighting Greek monsters. Jace silently worked in his own artwork next to me, I think he was drawing a dragon. It just kind of looked like a worm with wings. He was getting more and more frustrated at it, he must have rubbed it out at least ten times already.

"Relax, okay? Look" I said, drawing circles on his paper, marking out the dragons body. I then filled it in to look like the body.

"See, you start with circles and squares and then the actual outline" I looked up at Jace, he was looking at me with a strange expression.

"Alright, Miss Morgenstern" He said, getting back to his work. I was halfway through my own picture, when I felt an annoying poking on my arm.

"What?" I asked Jace, he was beginning to really annoy me.

"I need help and since you're the expert I decided to ask you." He smirked. I rolled my eyes.

"Then ask next time!"

"I am asking!"

"What do you need help with?"

"I can't make the shading look right" He whined at me like a child. I grabbed has hand and moved his hand to shade one wing in lightly.

"See, you have to do it lightly. Not thick and heavy, going the same way each time."

"I know I'm gorgeous and everything, but you don't have to be so forward" He said, holding up our hands. I blushed, and hastily moved my hand away. In the end, I practically drew Jace's dragon for him. I only hoped he wouldn't be so annoying every art lesson. The bell sounded the end of the day, we left the room and shoved all my books into my locker. Jace's was next to mine, I still hadn't decided whether that was a good thing or not.

"You looking forward to the sleepover tomorrow?" Jace asked in his best Izzy voice.

"It's tomorrow!" I gasped.

"You bet! I can't wait to see you there. Do you want a lift home?" He asked, it was like we had known each other for weeks. In reality we had barely just met.

"No, sorry. I usually go home with Simon and I'm going to the bookstore with Lu-Mr Graymark"

"How do you know him?"

"Mum's old friend" I said absentmindly, as I walked towards art.

"Oh, ok. See you round!" He called, disappearing into the crowds.


	7. Bookstore Bonanza

People, People everywhere. Sounds like a pretty good song. I started to get a tad bit claustrophobic, how many people go to this school? I think I was headed in the right direction to Art, but I'm probably not. Le sigh.

"Clary!" I heard a feminine voice call from behind, I turned to find Izzy running up to me.

"Yeah?"

"How can you come to my house tomorrow if you don't know where I live!? Here," She passed me a piece of paper with her address and phone number on.

"Here's your number, I'll call you maybe" I joke, I'm in that meh mood.

"Wow, you're just as bad as Jace"

"Is that a compliment or…"

"Nah, not really"

"I'll take it as a compliment then. What time shall I arrive tomorrow?"

"About 9:00am, you can go home whenever you like"

"Cool beanz. Is this the way to art?"

"Yup. Just down the corridor" Phew, I was close then. Izzy turns to leave and then turned back.

"By the way, I've taking Simon home. You can come to!"

"Sorry, I've got other stuff to do first"

"Oh okay" She, like Jace, disappeared into the crowd. Wow, two offers of lifts in one day. My first day as well! These people have got to be the kindest strangers I've ever met. I was even going to a sleepover with them tomorrow…We barely knew each other!

I found Luke still in his classroom, at his desk, still reading. I pushed open the door. He looked up and smiled.

"So you're going to come over to the bookstore today?"

"Sure, I miss that place" I shrugged.

"Wait a second though, I've just got to a _really _important part of the story"

"Oooh, what book are you reading?"

"Hunger Games"

"I'll come back in a minute then, you finish that chapter" I wandered about the classroom, observing some of the masterpieces on display. Some of it was pretty weird, most were abstract, some depressing and a few were very good. I looked into the corridor, it was eerily empty. I strolled along, finding lots of empty classrooms. A bit further along there was a big set of double doors. I peaked through, it looked really beautiful. There was a large, grey hall filled with lots of light from the windows. There was one singular grand piano in the middle. I wasn't sure which urge was stronger, to run my fingers along the keys or grab a pencil and draw the scene? I crept further into the room, my footsteps echoing across the hall. It didn't look like it was used very much.

"You coming then?" Luke's voice rang through the room. I jumped at the sudden sound of his voice.

"Yup" I scampered after him and took one last glance at the hall. I could always come back here, couldn't I?

The old bookstore was exactly how I remembered it, an old antique-looking shop, with thousands of books lining the walls. It looked a lot like Olivander's wand shop in Harry Potter, but instead of wands, it was lined with books.

"Why are you an art teacher and not an English teacher?" I asked Luke, the question had been bothering me since I found out he taught art.

Luke looked slightly uncomfortable.

"Art reminds me of Jocelyn, she taught me a few things in her years"

"Oh" I understood, art also reminded me of her. It was one of the reasons I still took art classes. Luke picked up a guitar from the corner.

"Do you remember Jon teaching you how to play?"

"Yeah" I did.

_It was a warm day, the sunlight streaming threw the window. Me on Jonathon's lap, the guitar giant, in proportion to me. Mum laughing with Luke in the corner and Dad going crazy with his new camera. He took a million pictures that day! Jonathon laughing as I struggled to reach all the strings with my tiny hands. _

I preferred to stay away from those kinds of memories, it made the present harder to bear. Luke then proceeded to go through all the photos that he owned of us. Each photo was intricately placed in an album, bound together into a series of books. The time and effort put into them were astonishing.

Me at the park on the swings, dad and mum kissing (ew), the wedding, all our birthdays, me and Jonathon…the list went on and on.

"How many are there?" I wondered aloud

"A lot actually. Here, it would be better for you to have them." He packed all the photos into a plastic bag.

"Thank you" I smiled.

"I'm sorry I haven't been there for you since…the thing…" Luke began

"No, no don't worry. It's been fine."

"Has it?" He questioned, a look in his eyes saying that he didn't believe me.

"I'm not gonna lie, it hasn't been easy. We'll get through it"

"I'm sure you will and What about Jon and Valentine " He interrogated, I shuffled uncomfortably.

"Everyone deals with grief in their own way and Jonathon…it's just hard for him."

Luke smiled sadly and moved to stand-up.

"You betta do your homework here. You can leave when your done."

"Thanks…for everything"

"It's the least I can do"

All in all it took two hours to complete every piece of homework, it was only the first day! I was packing up my stuff when my phone buzzed.

**Where are you, I'm hungry- Jonathon**

I sighed, said goodbye to Luke and replied whilst I was walking.

**I'm not your slave, men can cook to – Clary**

I was halfway through my bus ride when I got the second text, it was rather…colourful

**Just get your_over here, Valentine is so_angry! Where are you? – Jonathon**

**On the bus – Clary**

I sat looking out the window. I really didn't want to go home, but the consequences were inevitable. I knew that Valentine (not dad) would most likely be guest starring this evening and I also knew that Jon would be recast as Jonathon. Another buzz…

**Hurry up – Jonathan**

**No – Clary**

**I mean it – Jonathon **

Jonathan is most likely still fuming about the water-thing today, there would be no escaping tonight, it seems. I replied…

**I can't make the bus drive faster! – Clary**

A small pause…

**You can_try – Jonathon **

I decided that there was no point wasting credit (yes my phone is from when I was 13 years old and I'm still on pay as you go), trying to reason with my stupid brother.

I pressed the stop button and hopped off the bus. I walked the two streets towards my apartment… I was there all too soon, the shouts were booming through the walls! Yay! One drunkard + One hungry hormonal brother = Perfect family bonding time! I took a deep breath and opened the apartment door.


	8. Family Feud

I stepped through into the house. Both Valentine and Jonathon's heads whipped in my direction.

"Honey, I home!" I call cheekily. I wasn't really in the mood for silence at the moment. Valentine turned redder and Jonathon flexed his fists by his side.

"Where were you?" Jonathon spits, his attention divided between Valentine and me. There must have been another argument before I came in, it'd explain the shouting.

"Well, hello to you to" I say sarcastically, striding past Jonathon and dumping my bag in my bedroom. I can feel two pairs of eyes, following me. It was kinda creepy. I straightened up and moved towards the kitchen to start dinner. I opened the drawers to get out a saucepan, Jonathon slammed the drawer shut.

"I asked you a question" Jonathon pestered.

"Yes, you did" I stated. Opening the drawer again and placing the saucepan on the hob. Jonathon was started to lose his cool, although it's not like he was cool in the first place. Valentine impatiently shoved past me and Jonathon to reach the fridge. I watched him grab a beer, pop it open and down it all in one. Great, that only added…what? 2-3 more units to his system no doubt. Again, I had to shove Jonathon out the way to reach the pasta. He was slowing down the cooking process it was pretty stupid. He was going to have to wait longer at this rate! I was just about to open the cupboard, when Jonathon spun me around and slammed me into the door. His face way too close to mine, I could see everything on his face. Mostly I could smell alcohol. His hands crushed my arms with bruising force.

"What took you so long?"

"Chill, I was at the library. Okay?"

"Don't tell me what to do and it's not okay! You left us starving, while you were probably spending _quality time_ with those Lightwood Losers"

"Wow, sorry for actually having friends, it's more than I can say for you"

His eyes darkened and I saw his hand raise towards my face. Just before he was about to strike, I met his had with mine, so we did an awkward high-five thing. He seemed pretty surprised, so was I. That actually worked?

"Aww, that's so touching" I said as I shoved past him and grabbed the rest of the ingredients. Jonathon fixed me with a cold glare throughout the cooking process. I made faces at him whilst stirring the spaghetti sauce.

"You could help" I pointed out. He scoffed.

"I ain't helping you with anything. Not after this morning" He uttered, through many a bad word.

"Sorry, could you repeat that without swearing?" He cracked his knuckles and his nostrils flared.

"This morning, you think that was funny?"

"No, not at all. I thought your education was important to you and I didn't want you to be late."

"So you drowned me in water?"

"Don't be such a baby. I know better than anyone that shaking you won't wake you up after a hang over" Jonathon was going to explode. Thankfully, Valentine took that moment to interrupt.

"Hurry up Clarissa."

"It's ready" I reply, dishing out the spaghetti and laying it out on the table. We all took our seats and a deathly silence fell as we all silently fumed at each other. I ate so fast, I was probably going to get indigestion.

"Why did you stay out late?" Valentine questioned

"I was in the library, doing homework"

"Yeah right" Jonathon scoffed. I shot him my best glare, he smirked back.

"How is the ne-e-ew school?" He said again, his words slurred from the drink.

"Great thanks" I say, getting up to clear away the plates. Jonathon put his feet up on the table and moved the plate to the most awkward place possible.

"Jonathon, have some respect! Feet off the table" Valentine barked, he usually became a sergeant again when he was drunk. He always expected formality and perfection. When he was sober, he was usually slightly more laid back.

"Nope" Jonathon answered, popping the P.

I carried the plates over to the sink and started washing. I was so lost in my own world; I couldn't recall the argument starting. I soon realised when a plate hurled past me face and smashed into the wall. Alarmed I looked up to see Jonathon pinned to the table by Valentine. Jonathon shoved Valentine off him and they started fighting very hard. Jonathon had already given Valentine a giant nosebleed. I jumped up from the washing-up and tried to break them apart. I focused on Valentine, who was usually non-violent, Jonathon was the physical one. I tried to pull him away, but they were both too strong. I tried yelling for them to stop, but they both ignored me. I tried yelling random shiz at them, but no response there either. In desperation I stepped in between them, in hope of prying them apart or at least getting them to stop. I was facing Valentine, he had the most murderous look in his eyes. Suddenly, a big pain shot through my gut as he punched me and kicked me aside. He met Jonathon again, eager to land a few more blows. I gasped, rolling around in pain. Ow, ow, ow was all I could think, I was badly winded and could barely breath. I heard a crash, as Jonathon was launched across the room and into a photo frame. It smashed and broke into a thousand pieces. Jonathon looked at Valentine and, with a disgusted look, he tore through the house and threw the door open. Valentine looked lost all of sudden, staring at the bloodied glass, like he couldn't believe it had happened.

"Dad?" I asked him, he turned around with an apologetic look. I stood-up painfully, wincing as my stomach hurt. I was worried I'd puke. He pulled me into a hug and a single tear feel from my eye onto his t-shirt.

"Clary, I'm so so sorry. I didn't mean it, he just…" He started to apologise, still in the our embrace.

"It's okay, Jonathon was just being Jonathon. You didn't mean to get me" I forgave him, anything to get Dad back out of his shell. That night was actually pretty fun, considering most. We watched TV together and talked about general stuff.

"I'm going to a friend's house for the night tomorrow. Is that okay"

"Yeah, yeah sure" Dad said, still trying to make it up to me.

I went to bed with mixed feelings that night. Anger at Jonathon, upset at Valentine, happy I spent time with dad, anxious for the sleepover tomorrow and mainly pain from the punch. It was not going to be fun explaining that to Simon, who was still convinced I was being abused. I wouldn't call it that, it's just a family feuds. But he was bound to notice…


	9. Sleepover Schnuffles

Dn dn dn dn dn dnnnnnn! The sound of my ringtone blared through my ears. I sat up and forced myself out of bed. I immediately regretted it, as a sharp pain hurt my stomach. I sat down again and answered the phone. The caller ID read Simon.

"Agent Fray, state your position" Simon said, in his most sergeantly voice. Fray was my gaming nickname, I can't remember why, but it stuck.

"In bed, Agent Vader" I replied back

"We're gonna be late at this rate! I'm on my way to yours now, so you betta be ready!"

"I'm on it" I said, dragging myself up to face my mirror. I pulled up my top and saw on pretty impressive bruise on my side. So, of course, I poked it. Yup, it hurts alright. I wasn't angry at dad, but I'm worried Jonathon is going to be away for a while. If there is one thing that scares me more then knowing he's at home, it's knowing he's not there. Yeah, it sucks either way. I felt awful as I grabbed breakfast and attempted to clean myself up as best as possible. I noticed some pretty purple bruises on my shoulder when I was brushing my teeth, must've been Jonathon's fault. Another bruise to cover up! I _would_ use make-up, but unfortunately I didn't possess any. I settled for wearing a (very nice) long sleeve top with shorts and leggings. The weather looked about mild, so it wouldn't rain, but I also wouldn't boil to death. I faced the mirror again and forced myself to smile. Maybe if I smiled Simon wouldn't have to know…There was a knock on my door and I swivelled around to open it.

"You ready?" Simon asked. The sight of his smile brought me back to earth.

"I was born ready!" I stated, saluting Simon as I passed him. I slung my bag onto my back and descended the stairs.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" I asked, I was still nervous for the sleepover.

"The sleepover? I can't see why not"

"We hardly know them! It's like going to a stranger's for a tea party!"

"Apparently spending the night with someone is the best way to get to know them"

"Woah, too much information Simon. Keep those thoughts to yourself!"

"I didn't mean. You know – I just meant" Simon stammered, flustered. I was laughing so hard, but for some reason no sound could escape. (yunno that laugh you do, when you look like a possessed seal, I even added clapping to further enhance the effect).

"You should watch those innuendos Simon!"

"I hate you" Simon joked.

"No you don't. Come on, _everyone_ loves me!"

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that"

"I will"

"Eric came up with another band name… Drum roll please" Simon ordered, I made a drumming gesture with my hands

"The Possessed Pigs!"

"Wow, every time it just gets better"

"I was thinking 'Shadowhunters' is quite a good name"

"Actually that's not too shabby, although it makes you sound like a Goth band"

"Hey, I could try being a dye blonde wannabe Goth if I wanted to"

"I would pay you"

We had reached a very nice part of the neighbourhood, I grabbed Isabelle's address from my pocket.

"Is this the right place" Simon asked

"Yep, this road and number 211"

We wandered along the road, feeling slightly out of place. I'd never been to this side of town before.

"Well, this is it" Simon said, gesturing towards number 211. I was a really nice house, like _really _nice. It wasn't big enough to be called a mansion, but compared to my apartment I felt had the right to call it that. It looked cosy enough! Thankfully there wasn't a fancy gate or buzzy thing (intercoms as the world likes to call them). That would have felt too wrong and formal. Simon stepped up to the door and just as his hand came up to press the doorbell, Izzy flew the door open.

"You came!" She screeched, flinging herself at me. I awkwardly returned the hug, I wasn't all that touchy feely. She even hugged Simon, who turned a very suspicious red. I smirked and let Izzy lead us into the house. It was amazing, the colours were mostly creams and whites, making the place look bright and open. The floors were all carpeted and felt really squishy (we had taken off our shoes already). There was a sizeable kitchen, an expensive looking dining room, a vast library, a family sitting room, a bathroom and Izzy then lead us down into the basement. The basement was definitely the coolest part of the house. There were comfy mattresses laid out on the floor, bean bags strewn around, there was a giant flat screen TV fixed on the wall, a pool table, a table tennis tale, a football table and even an assortment of band instruments in the corner.

"This. Is. Awesome!" I exclaimed out loud. Simon nodded in agreement and Jace looked up from his position in front of the TV. I think he was playing Halo with Jordan, Maia and Alec.

"Welcome to my lair" Jace said, ominously. Izzy rolled her eyes.

"You do know that this belongs to _all _of us, it's this thing that sibling's call sharing"

"Really? You know I have never heard that word before! You're a genius!" Jace replied enthusiastically.

"Mind if I join?" Simon asked him shyly, he came across as fairly interested. However I knew that inside Simon would be dying to get into the game.

"Yeah sure" Jace answered, chucking the remote to him. I sighed, 4 controllers and 6 of us.

"You guys are so boring! Clary do you wanna go to my room?" She asked me. I really, _really_ wanted to say no. Unfortunately the polite Clary took over.

"Yeah okay" I resigned, Izzy turned around and I made a silent plea to Simon. Mouthing 'save me', Simon just laughed and shook his head. I pointed two fingers at my eyes and pointed them at him. I even gave him my best evils. Jordan turned around and gave me the thumbs up for encouragement.

"You coming!?" Izzy called from the hall.

"I'll come with you, you're gonna need some help" Maia pointed out, leaving the comfy basement with me.

"Thank you" I replied, relieved.

Izzy's bedroom was huge, a giant four poster bed in the centre. The room was completely and utterly pink. I wonder what her favourite colour is? Everything screamed girly-girl, from the messy vanity table to the giant walk in wardrobe. Oh help me.

It actually didn't turn out too badly, we sat and talked for _hours_. It was safe to say that I can call Izzy more than just an acquaintance now. I knew more about her than I had ever known about any other girl in my life! She seemed shocked by my lack of knowledge and interest in makeup and fashion. You can't blame me! It wasn't boring, it was actually pretty fun, but I was dying to go play x-box with the guys downstairs. I finally decided to make my escape around lunchtime, I claimed I needed the toilet (which wasn't a lie), but I didn't return to her bedroom.

I entered the basement and descended down the steps, just in time to catch the controller that was flying towards my face.

"Woah, what did it do to you?" I asked the room.

"Alec was slightly disappointed that he lost, _again_" Jordan answered.

"Mind if I join" I asked him.

"Feel free" He said.

I settled down onto the beanbag next to Simon's.

"Who's team I on?" I questioned.

"You're on mine, but I heard you and Simon make quite the team. So, I'll let you lose with him" Jace answered, handing me the correct controller.

"Game on" I said. This was going to be a pushover! Me and Simon were amazing at this game. We knew all the attack formation and position needed to win. We owned Jace and Jordan's butts! Jace kept adding in as many innuendos as he could about getting to third base, it was rather distracting to say the least. Even so, by the time they'd taken over our first base, we had already taken over three of theirs. We even had secret code words like Scorpio and Serpentine as tactics. Alec sat in the corner and sulked. I felt guilty and promised myself I'd give it back to him after next round. Me and Simon won, _again_. This meant we were even with Jace and Jordan's scores! We did our celebratory high five and I gave my controller to Alec. He looked surprised, but grateful. I sat next to him, giving him tactical advice and sure enough we won! We performed our celebratory dance and high fived Alec. I stuck my tongue out at Jace, who looked flabbergasted.

"Hey, what does that look mean? A girl suddenly beat the mighty Jace" Simon chided him.

"Nope, just admiring the show" Jace replied coolly. I scoffed.

"You're just upset we inflated your ego" I teased.

"My ego is very much intact, although your concern is appreciated" Jace raised an eyebrow at me.

"There you are!" Isabelle yelled from the top of the stairs.

"Yeah, sorry. I..uh…got lost?" I said trying to come up with a good enough excuse.

"Never mind" She said, smiling brightly. "Who's up for some lunch?"

"NO!" Alec and Jace said simultaneously.

"But…" Izzy started

"No, no and no Isabelle Lightwood" Jace said in a stern voice.

"We'll order pizza" Maia piped up from behind her. She scurried over to Jordan and they embraced in a very non-friendly way.

"Nice to know I'm a third wheel" I said

"I think you'll find, _I'm _the third wheel in their relationship. You're more like sixth wheel" Jace said

"Oh really! That's such an honour" I said, sarcastically.

"Can I at least bake a cake?" Izzy whined.

"No!" Again everyone disagreed. I felt bad for her, so I volunteered myself as tribute.

"I'll help you" I offered.

"Yes! Thanks Clary"

It turned out Izzy really was one _awful _cook. First, she put in icing sugar instead of flour (that was a nightmare to sort out), then she nearly forgets half the ingredients, somehow manages to mistake vanilla essence for chilli (I stopped her just in time) and evidently had no skills with a whisk. When the cake was finally in the oven (in one piece), I sighed completely exhausted by the effort of correcting Izzy's mistakes.

"How come you're such a good cook?" Izzy asked me

"Practise and lots of it" I replied, truthfully

"Where do you find the time?"

"I cook for my dad and brother, I have to find time"

"Oh, okay then. Thanks for the help" She said and flounced off. I stared at the mounding pile of washing-up, well looks like that's up to me. I leaned forward and put my head on the cool countertop, I was so tired. I couldn't sleep last night and I'd kept waking up in pain. Suddenly, I felt someone jab me in the sides, I shrieked in surprise and cursed at the pain. Simon stood there bewildered.

"Are you alright?" He asked, I didn't reply.

"Sorry, I only wanted to surprise you. Did I hurt you?" He asked again. I smiled, but it turned into a grimace instead. Simon's face suddenly turned grave.

"Show me" He said, voice very serious. I considered bolting, but thought against it. He would only pester me more. I lifted up my shirt to expose my side. I have to say the bruise looked pretty impressive. His eyes widened.

"Did Valentine do this?"

"No, well…yeah, but he didn't mean to"

"I don't care if he meant to or not, he still did it! How'd it happen?" His voice raising

"Jonathon was angry, they had an argument, I tried to stop them and I got hit in the crossfire. It's nothing, Jonathon was worse though. He left and I didn't see him this morning."

"Yeah, well I couldn't care less about Jonathon. I told you to tell me if anything happened!"

"Sorry, I didn't want you to worry."

He seemed to give-up.

"Just tell me next time. I don't trust Jonathon at all and Valentine is no better"

"Okay" I gave-in as well, maybe I should tell him next time. He hugged me and left when Jordan's voice called him from the basement. I started cleaning-up, as Jace walked through into the kitchen. I hardly noticed him as I continued washing the bowl.

I then noticed a spoon, still full with cake mixture on it and I reached out to lick it.

"Have you touched this?" I asked Jace.

"Nope" he looked suspicious, but I continued licking the spoon anyway. I was halfway through, when I noticed Jace staring.

"What?" I asked him, beginning to feel worried.

"I may have been lying" He smirked. I gasped and ran at him with the spoon. He dodged and I chased him around the kitchen.

"Eww, ew,ew you licked this!" I accused him. He laughed.

He made a run for the door and I reached it before him. Blocking the doorway.

"YOU SHALL NOT PASS!" I yelled, waving the spoon around like a madman. He casually scooped me up like I weighed nothing. I protested knocking him on the back of the head with my trusty spoon. He yelped and dropped me and I landed gracefully on my feet. He lunged, grabbed the spoon and held it above his head.

"That's not fair!"

"What's not fair?" He asked innocently.

I jumped, using his arm as momentum to swing and grab the spoon. In triumph I held my prize.

"Impressive, where'd you learn that?"

"My dad taught me a few things"

He lunged again, I dodged. We danced around, me still trying to give him a good thwack for being disgusting. He kicked my legs out from underneath me, so I fell heavily onto his chest. The spoon went flying out of my hand. We ended up in a very awkward position, our heads _very _close together.

Someone cleared their throat from behind me. I rolled off Jace and faced the intruder/saviour. I sighed when I realised it was only Maia; if it had been anyone else I would have been worried.

"You two done flirting, coz the pizza arrived" She announced, giving me a wink. I blushed.

The rest of the day was really fun, Jace and I got rather wet trying to wash-up, we all played just dance and we watched _loads _of movies. We settled down for the night on the mattresses in the basement. The Lightwood's parents were on a business trip for the weekend, so the day had been stress-free! I ended up on the bed in-between Simon and Jace. Izzy had insisted on sleeping on a sofa, all because she needed her beauty sleep. Alec was also on a sofa and Jaia **(is that their ship name, I don't know**) where snuggled on their own mattress. I was probably the only one awake, listening to the sounds of the others. I was terrified to sleep, if I did I'd probably wake up screaming and that would be mortifying. So I resolved to stay awake as long as humanly possible. I turned over on my side, the one that faced Jace, expecting to see closed eyelids. I jumped when I saw his gold eyes, awake and staring straight at me.

"Why are awake?" He whispered.

"I don't want to sleep" I admitted

"Nightmares?" He guessed.

"How did you-"

"I get them too…about my parents"

"Yeah my mum is the star of mine" He smiled at that.

"Come here" He gestured.

"Err…" I asked awkwardly, me and Simon had snuggled before. But Jace? I hardly even knew him! Although, come to think of it we have already exchanged spit…

"I don't bite" He promised.

"Yeah, but…"

"A lot of girls would love to be in your position right now"

"I'm not a lot of girls, I'm one girl"

"Really? That's new, though you had a twin" I stayed quiet, my brain still battling on whether to except his offer or not.

"Do you ever wake up yelling?" He asked out of the blue.

"Yeah" I nodded

"It used to terrify the Lightwoods, they'd come running every night"

"Lucky"

"Lucky?"

"Yeah, at least they cared"

Jace smiled sadly.

"It would always help if I slept holding on to Mr. Schnuffles" He said, I was beginning to see the real Jace that I doubted he let most people see.

"Mr. Schnuffles?"

"My stuffed bunny, you should meet him. I think he'd like you"

"So, you want me to replace Mr. Schnuffles?

"Now you get it"

He seemed very open and understanding, I couldn't say no any longer. I shuffled along and curled up into Jace. He brought his arms around me and held on.

"Much better than Mr. Schnuffles..." I heard Jace say, as I finally let sleep carry me away.


	10. Sleepover Schnuffled (2)

**To Shadowwriters (guest), thank you your ideas are much appreciated and I shall try to include it in the next few chapters ****. As use, thanks to le fans. **

**Jace POV**

I woke-up with the urgent feeling to go to the toilet. It was dark down here, but I could tell from the clock that it was nearly 8:00am, which isn't very early at all. I tried to get up and suddenly realised that my arms were trapped underneath someone else. Mr. Schnuffles will be ashamed of me! Wait, what? Mr. Schnuffles? I never thought of that teddy, it was a thing of the past (or at least I try to think that). My mind did a quick re-wind to last night. I remembered talking with Clary and then convincing her to become Mr. Schnuffles instead. I mentally kicked myself, sure she's a nice girl, but what did that make us now? Friends I decided (maybe a little disappointed, but you can't develop a crush in two days, right? Wrong, I knew I was already done for). I remembered the conversation between her and Simon I had overheard yesterday. Simon had seemed very worried and mentioned her brother and a guy named Valentine. Who _has_ that name? I assumed he was her dad and Simon himself had said he was no better than Jonathon. I felt bad for Clary; it must be tough living with two aggressive men. Wait! She'd shown him something yesterday. On her side I think…I felt kinda bad, but I lifted the side of Clary's shirt to reveal a giant bruise. I was shocked, it looked horrible and I swear it was every colour of the rainbow! I suddenly felt very overprotective, I wanted to hurt whoever had done this to her. She didn't seem to think it was an issue, but Simon had seemed adamant that he knew it would happen. Anyway, I couldn't just invade her privacy by bringing up her home life.

So I carefully detached myself from her, immediately regretting the loss of warmth. _No can do_, I thought as I crept my way towards the door. I scanned the room, hoping that no-one had been awake to witness our snuggle. Darn it! Izzy's sofa was empty. I will never hear the end of this!

I finished my business in the bathroom and headed towards the kitchen for a drink. The day looked warm and sunny, with perfect clear blue skies. I grabbed a glass and filled it up with water. I turned around as I heard the familiar clicking of Isabelle's high heel shoes.

"I'm picking Max up from his boy scouts camp" Izzy said from the doorway.

"Okay, see you later then" I replied. Please, please please don't mention Clary. Izzy left the room, I sighed relieved and made my way into the hall. Alas, she turned back at the last minute.

"I saw you and Clary this morning" She accused me. Fudge!

"Look, it was nothing"

"It didn't look like nothing"

"She couldn't sleep, so I offered to help. She get's nightmares too"

"Oh okay. How do you two know each other anyway?"

"We don't. Not really. I met her when I was visiting my parents; she was there for her mum's birthday. We talked a while and then we left."

"Ohh! So she's that girl Alec said you were with"

I raised an eyebrow at that.

"I guess so"

"You're cute together anyway!" She looked at the clock "I really have to go"

"Bye"

She turned and opened the front door.

"Oh and Izzy?"

She turned around.

"What?"

"Try not to create too much road kill"

I smirked as she rolled her eyes and slammed the door behind her.

I returned to the basement and sank down onto my mattress. Clary was sprawled out across half of mine and half of hers. I smiled and (on impulse) twirled a piece of gloriously red hair around my finger.

"You know it's kinda creepy to watch people sleep" I heard a voice say, I looked up to find Simon staring at me. I hurriedly dropped her hair, feeling intrusive.

"Sorry"

"Don't be, I've given-up on the idea of a relationship Clary a whole ago. Friendship is all we'll ever have"

"Sorry dude, you're getting friend zoned really hard"

"Yeah, I know. It doesn't mean I trust you. Just don't do anything stupid, okay? I saw you two last night. Remember you've only known her a few days, not the years I have."

"I am aware of that, and don't worry I won't do anything until I know her more."

"Good, and never on _any_ condition hurt her or force her into anything"

"Never. I would _never_ do that to anyone"

"Then we have an understanding"

I nodded and Simon left. That clears a few things up. I had been worried that they _were _together and I had just done something awful. Thankfully that wasn't the case. Clary stirred and her eyelids fluttered open.

**Clary POV (most of this story is in her's)**

I woke-up to see Jace's face looming over me.

"That's a bad view to wake up to in the morning" I grumbled, sitting up and stretching out my aching muscles.

"That hurts!" He exclaimed, hand over his heart in disbelief. I made a face at him and stood up, searching for my bag to change clothes.

"Any nightmares last night?" Jace asked. I froze.

"No….why would I?"

"No reason. I just thought you seemed pretty worried about it last night"

I replayed the scenes from last night and felt my face grow hotter. Jace winked and I didn't think my face could go any redder than it already was.

"Last night didn't mean anything, right?"

"Oh how quickly you dismiss our love! But, no, we can take that as friendship"

I was relieved, not that Jace is a bad guy, but I just wasn't ready for all that boyfriend palaver right now. I don't do I?

After waking Jaia up and getting dressed. I found myself sitting in the dining room eating a very nice breakfast surrounded by my new friends. I felt like the luckiest person in the world right now. Not only had I made friends within the first day, but I now felt completely comfortable sharing around their table like this. Jordan was a great guy friend (he was basically a 'cooler' version of Simon), Maia was a lot like me, I luf Simon (obviously and luf is what I like to call friendly love), Izzy seems really nice (although a bit chatty) and Jace was…well I'm not really sure what to think of him. He comes across as self confident and care-free. After last night I realised that it was more of his outer mask, rather than his deep personality. I was a bit like that, I showed more confidence and attitude than I actually possessed, it just made it harder for people to realise there was a problem. My phone suddenly rang in mu pocket, causing me to jump. I took it out of my pocket and checked the ID.

Dad, it read along with 5 missed calls. Oh great, with my luck he had forgotten where I was.

"Can I take this call?" I asked Jace

"Sure" He said, gesturing to the hallway outside. I went through and took the call.

"Hello?"

"WHERE ARE YOU!?" His voice yelled through the phone, I pulled it away from my ear. I waited for the sounds to stop before I answered.

"At a friend's house, like I told you earlier"

"I don't remember that!"

"Of course not, you were sober at the time"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY TO ME!? YOU GET BACK HERE, I HAVE A FEW WORDS I WANT TO SAY ABOUT YOUR ATTITUDE"

"Yeah, I'm sure you do. How many drinks you had?"

"3-4, I don't know. YOU EXPECT ME TO COUNT FOR YOU"

"It'd be nice to know how drunk you are for a change. I'll be home in a few hours."

"I want you home now!"

"Not gonna happen sunshine"

"What happened to respect for your elders"

"Oh I don't know, maybe after you started drinking"

"You have crossed the line Clarissa."

"Yeah, yeah whatever"

"You're grounded; when you get back home you will NOT be seeing your friends"

"What about school and did you forget that I work on Mondays and Tuesday so _you _can pay the bills?"  
"You come straight home afterwards"

"As if! I'll come home after lunch, you can make yourself a sandwich from the bread on the side." I hung-up the call. I am officially stupid! Why couldn't I have just let him have his way? Impossible, would always be the answer. I hate people trying to control me.

Izzy chose that moment to enter with a small kid, who looked almost identical to Alec.

"Max meet Clary, Clary meet Max!" Izzy introduced us.

"Hello Clary!"

"Hey Max! You like Manga" I asked, pointing to the book he held in his hand.

"Yeah! Although, this one doesn't make any sense"

"Let me see"

He showed me the book.

"You read it from the middle, like this" I said, demonstrating how to read it.

"Thank you!"

"Any time, I could take you to Forbidden Planet if you like"

"What's that?"

"It's a comic book store _full_ of manga!"

"Awesome! Pwease can we go!" Max pleaded towards his sister, using his best puppy eyes.

"Maybe another day, Max" Izzy reasoned, he slumped slightly and ran upstairs to read his book. Jace appeared from the dining room and Max stopped halfway up the stairs to run back and jump-hug Jace.

"I missed ya buddy" Jace cooed, ruffling Max's hair.

"Me too! You know what we learned at boy scouts!"

"What!?"

"How to tie knots, just like you can!"

"Impressive"

The rest of the day was much like the day we had had yesterday. We talked and bonded together, it felt liked we had known each other years instead of weeks. The time ticked away and before I knew it the time was already 6:00pm. Shoot! Valentine will be furious.

"I have to go, thanks for the sleepover though" I announced to my friends.

"Anytime" Izzy said, after a round of hugs I was free to leave. I really didn't want to, but if I wanted to see daylight again I'd have to get home as quick as possible.

"I'll take you home" Jace offered.

"Sure"

He led me to a shiny black motorbike in his huge garage.

"You can ride this thing?"

"Yep"

He chucked me a helmet and I strapped it on. The journey was exhilarating, but also completely terrifying. It was over too soon and we were left standing in front of the building. I returned the helmet and he put it back on his bike.

"Thanks for the lift"

"Any day"

We stood facing each other awkwardly for quite a long time. I observed all his features and _dayum_ he's hot. I was overcome with the strange urge to kiss him. He seemed to be searching my eyes for permission. To kiss or not to kiss? I settled for kissing him on the cheek, didn't wanna be too forward after all! I started walking up the steps.

"Still wanna just be friends?" Jace called after me.

"I'll think about it" I said and with a wink I disappeared into the building.

The argument that ensued was a long and tiring one, Valentine won of course. He ended up locking the apartment door all Sunday to make sure I stayed put. Of course, he was left to do what he wanted, but I had to mooch around the apartment doing nothing all day. You know you're screwed when Tumblr becomes your soul source of entertainment. I survived the day knowing that I'd see my friends at school on Monday.


	11. Life Letters

**So terribly sorry I haven't been able to update for a whole week! I plan to update as soon as possible! I apologise for my absence, I was in Germany for a week and I'm having to catch-up on lots of school work! As always, thanks for the reviews and follows! (Sorry this update so short) **

Dear mum,

This week has been the best in a while. I'm really started to love my new friends, from Isabelle's cute laugh to Jace's innuendos! Maia volunteered to tutor me in my worst subjects; she's really smart and a very good tutor. Jordon and Simon are like brothers, so I technically have two Simon's now! I love going to school and I hate having to go home. School is just such a big relief from Valentine and all that schmuck. Jonathon still hasn't returned to home or school and it's making Valentine completely bonkers. He keeps expecting me to do everything and know all the answers. I don't talk to him anymore; I just get home and do everything I have to.

He goes to the gym all day and then comes home either drunk or about to be drunk. He either shouts and scolds or doesn't do anything at all. Fun times! Jace has been making ginger jokes ever since that sleepover. It's annoying because I can never quite think of a blonde joke to match. You know what mum? I think I'm finally becoming a big girl, because I just can't keep my eyes off him! It's very distracting when I'm trying to work. It's also really creeping me out that I can't keep my thoughts in track when he's around. Neither does it help my school reputation; Jordan is convinced I have broken all school records with 10 detentions within my first week. What can I say? I'm just a rebel through and through.

I miss you. Well, that's a big understatement! I miss everything from before. Luke looks after me like a true father should, I love going to the bookstore and I look forward to it every week. I go every Wednesday see. I still work on Mondays and Tuesdays as normal. I play the piano at school on Thursday and Friday. I found this amazing it's all desolate and mysterious. There's a big grand piano in the middle of an abandoned school hall. I know you'd love to paint it! I teach myself piano from my iPod (Jordan knows how to hack into the school Wi-Fi) Piano playing is like therapy for me, every single emotion, every single doubt, I pour into my music.

I nearly forgot, it's my birthday _very _soon! I'm going to Simon's this Saturday and Izzy promised Max I'd take him to forbidden Planet. I haven't told Valentine yet, but nothing is gonna stop me seeing that little kid! I met the Lightwood parents last Tuesday, it was really awkward at first, but then they were really nice and so informal that it didn't take long for us to be laughing together like a real family. They accepted me and Simon like any other teenagers, like their own children. We all get treated equally at their house! Life is good right now. Stay safe Jocelyn.

God bless,

Clary (although Jace is convinced that Flame suits me more)


	12. Juvenile Jonathon

Monday. Urgh. Wake-up. Get dressed. Grab an apple upon realising I'm late. Meet up with Simon. Wait for Maureen. Miss the bus. Arrive at School late. Geography – Mr. Bloggs. Get shouted at. Talk back. Get sent out. Music – Miss. Pennykettle. Play the piano for the class. Stare at Jace. Get winked at by Jace. Break. Talk to Izzy. Be a third wheel to Jaia. Listen to a Simon geek-out. Art – Mr. Garroway. Draw some stuff. Draw Jace's stuff. Share a smile with Luke. History – Mr. Starkweather. Went well. Nah, kidding it went something like this:

I was sitting in class, trying to listen but I was too far gone. Jace and I were passing notes. So, of course, Mr. Starkweather had to notice.

"Clarissa, would you like to share those notes with the whole class?"

"Aww come on Hodge. I told you to call me Clary!"

"It's _Starkweather _to you, _Clarissa" _

"It's _Clary, _to you _Hodge_"

"We can continue this conversation after school in an hours detention" The whole class ooed at that.

"Can't wait, a whole hour with you Hodge. It sounds _perfect _to me, almost a date!"

Hodge gave-up and turned his back to teach the rest of the lesson. I saw another note land on the desk:

"_**Nice one Flame" **_

The bell _finally _rang and we were given freedom again. Jace disappeared off to look at the football team list and I went off to dump my books in my locker. I reached the Lightwood Bench, which was empty apart from Jaia sharing a very intimate moment on top of it. I cleared my throat loudly.

"You got company fella's" I said, they looked embarrassed and sat at the table like normal. They were so adorable. I tucked into my lunch staring out across the field. Jace came jogging up to the table and plopped himself in the seat opposite.

"Hey Flame" Jace greeted

"Hey Blondie"

"Blondie…It's not very original" Jace decided

"Would you prefer Barbie?" I say, raising an eyebrow.

"No thanks. Blondie will do…for now" Izzy chose that moment to come bounding up to the table, brimming with her usual excitement.

"What are you doing after school Clary?"

"The usual detention and then work"

"Is detention usual?" Maia asks.

"Yup! Detention is an everyday addition to Clary's day. I'm surprised it's not on her timetable" Simon says **(I love writing Simon says)**, I hadn't noticed his and Alec's arrival.

"Hey, Clary and Jace can start up a detention club!" Izzy chips in

"The Clace Club, I like the sound of that" Maia joins in.

Before I could protest I see Jonathon and the usual gang stalk up to us across the field. He looked like his usual self but with an intent expression.

"What is _he _doing here? My day was going so well" Jace complains loudly. Jonathon stops a few metres away.

"Well? What do you want?" Jace asks him, not too kindly.

"I need to speak to Clary" He says, directing it to me.

"Alright, what do you have to say?" I respond

"I need to talk in _private_"

"Nah, I like it here"

"_Please _Clary" Jonathon pleaded. Huh? Jonathon never says please. I get up and let him lead me a few tables away, I could feel the stares of my friends follow me, making me feel really exposed.

"Well it's nice to see you again" I smile awkwardly. He just keeps his poker face on.

"I'm leaving"

"What!?"

"I said. I'm leaving."

"I know what you said! Why? You can't just leave!"

"Oh I can"

"Where are you gonna go, huh?"

"Seb has a pretty nice place"

"Nice!? Oh I'm sure you and your gang are like one big cosy family. Abandoning us makes you no better than Valentine" I turn to leave, but Jonathon grabs my arm.

"Clary, listen to me. He's dangerous"

I snort

"Who are you talking about, you or dad?"

I can see Jonathon's mask melting away, revealing his anger underneath. Great!

"That_man._abandoned_us_ages_ago!"

"So. Did. You"

"I did not!"

"Oh come on! The fights, the drink, the hangovers, the parties, the gang, the ignoring, the pretending you don't care. How long is the list Jonathon! When are you going to be my brother again! Do you even care about mum anymore!? What makes you so different from Valentine?" I accuse him.

His face contorts itself into the calm face Valentine uses when he's been pushed out over the edge. He moves forward threateningly, pushing me backwards into the table.

"Don't ever say that again"

"You. Are. Just. Like. Valentine" I say, punctuating every word.

He raised his hand to slap or hit me - something to harm me anyway. My instincts and "training" kicked in and I grabbed his arm, twisting it behind his back and pushing him into the ground. He jumps up and lunges towards me. I duck and twirl around him.

"Since when could you fight?"

"Don't you remember anything from before? Or has all the alcohol affected your memories?"

He snarled and started towards me again. He throws a punch and when I dodge it he lands a kick in my side. I flinch and give him a good blow to the jaw.

"Dad taught me self defence to protect me from men just like you"

I try to land another punch, but Jonathon grabs my wrist and twists painfully, pulling me closer to him.

"You're pathetic. Weren't you there when mum was murdered? Why didn't you fight the killer?" He snarls, face pressed close to mine aggressively.

"You don't know anything!" I cry, spitting in his face. I twist my wrist out of his grip and land a punch to his chest, he doesn't even flinch. He throws a punch at my face; I duck, but as soon as I stand-up he grabs me and throws me over his shoulder judo-style. I land on the floor painfully. He towers over me and I look behind him to see a livid Jace starting towards us and Jonathon's crew looking mildly interested. I pull myself up and punch Jonathon square in the nose, I feel a crunch and draw my hand back covered in blood. Jonathan looks murderous. I back away but he lands a punch to my face, no doubt leaving a black eye.

"Hey! Hey! Stop that!" I hear Alec shout. We ignore him and continue our brawl.

I notice the guys and even a few teachers now trying to break up the fight, but we are whirling too fast for them to catch us. I concentrate on Jonathon's moves and channel all my pent up aggression into my blows. I'm so angry I'm not even thinking about my actions. I get so into the fight that I don't realise Jonathon has cleverly backed me into the table, narrowing my options. I leap up onto the table and flip off the table (okay maybe not necessary, but you gotta show who's boss, right?), back kicking Jonathon in the process. I land somewhat on top of him, but am immediately pulled off him by muscled arms. I don't struggle as I'm lifted into the air and restrained. I'm still glaring at Jonathon, who is also being restrained by Sebastian, his nose is bleeding everywhere. His clothes are stained and I look down to see I also have some of it on me.

"Hey, hey. Calm down, he's not worth it" I hear Jace's unmistakable voice in my ear.

"Right, you two to Starkweather's office _right now_!" Miss. Ravenscar, the buff P.E teacher orders. Sebastian drags a reluctant Jonathon after Miss. Ravenscar and Jace steers me by the shoulders after them. Stares follow us as we parade through the school, Jonathon leaving a trail of blood in his wake.

"Sebastian, take Jonathon to first aid and Jace, you can wait with Clarissa in seclusion. Mr Starkweather will see you when he's ready" Miss Ravenscar commands, following Sebastian to first aid.

"Come on" Jace says dragging towards the empty classroom. As soon as we're through he lets go and I spring away from him.

Jonathon accused me of being responsible for mum's death, was I? I've been blaming myself for years so what's new**? He blamed you!** Gah, why does it always have to be this way with Jonathon!? Jon, where is he when you need him? **He left four years ago**. I paced up and down the room fighting my internal battle, my breaths becoming shorter and shorter.

"Okay Clary, deep breaths" Jace advises. I breathe a little deeper, but keep up my frantic pacing.

"Stop that, it's really very annoying"

"Stop what!"

"Pacing, you look a bit like a tiger in a cage, adds effect with your red hair and everything"

I stop pacing to glare at him.

"Seriously?" I ask

"Deep breaths Clary, deeeeeep breaths" Jace says, sitting on a table and crossing his legs like a Zen Master and making the meditating sign with his hands. "To know peace, first you must feel it. In" (he breathes in) "and out" (he breathes out loudly).

I can't help but snigger at him, he closes his eyes in "concentration"

"One must not laugh at the way of life, Clary and I can't hear your deep breaths." He opens his eyes and gasps.

"How can you expect to be at peace in such a posture? You must adopt the required position" He says, pointing to his stupid position.

"Whatever you say Master Jace" I say, hopping onto the table opposite and copying him.

"This is beyond ridiculous" I point out.

"Hush hush. Close your eyes and concentrate on the feeling of your breaths" (he breathes in again) "in and out" (he breathes out)

I throw away all my dignity and follow his example until I am actually thoroughly relaxed.

"Imagine you are on a beach, feel the waves lapping the beach as you run across the sand"

"Okay Jace you can stop. I get your point"

He opens his eyes and smiles goofily at me; I can't help but return it. He drops his position and swings his legs over the edge of the table in that adorable look-at-me-I-can't-touch-the-floor kind of way. I copy.

"You know I've never seen anyone fight like that before"

"You haven't met my dad"

"He taught you?"

"Yeah, my dad was in the army and before that he was a Judo master. Jonathon went to Judo from when he was five, he was top of the class and dad trained him so he could be even better. I begged mum to let him teach me too and he did, calling it self-defence for when I become, (and I quote) 'as beautiful as Jocelyn'. He stopped teaching me a few years ago, but I'd already learnt the basics."

"Basics? That flip wasn't basics!"

"My dad was very over protective"

"Was?" Jace asks confused.

I looked away.

"He has more important things to worry about now"

"Oh, I see. You have to be pretty good to challenge Jonathon, do you fight often?"

"No" I respond quickly. "Dad and Jonathon do all the fighting. I don't give Jonathon a reason to be angry"

"He hasn't…hit you before has he?"

"No!" I reply.

"I'm sorry, I know it's not my business, but he is aggressive"

"I know"

The door swung open and Miss. Ravenscar interrupted us.

"Clarissa, Mr. Starkweather would like to speak to you. Jace, you can go back to you lessons."

Jace nods and reluctantly leaves the room. We follow behind and I'm lead into Hodge's office. Ravenscar knocks on the door and leaves me alone.

"Come in" a voice calls. I open the door to see Hodge at his desk, Jonathon with a plaster on his nose and an empty seat for me.

"Take a seat" I pretend to look confused

"Which one?"

With a stern look from Starkweather, I sit in the only empty chair.

"As the principal it is my duty to keep the school a safe environment. You have both behaved in an unacceptable manor. I have no choice but to call your father and discuss this behaviour with him. And you will be pleased to know, Clarissa, that I will also be discussing your lesson behaviour as I have received some rather interesting comments from other teachers."

Jonathon looks at me in surprise, I keep a straight face.

"I have discussed your little fight with Jonathon and he has little information to offer on the matter. Do you have anything to say?"

"Yeah, I'm happy for you Hodge. I didn't know you got promoted to principal, good job. I thought you were just our History teacher"

I saw a muscle twitch in his eye; he otherwise kept a straight face.

"That's another subject to discuss with Mr. Morgenstern, I think. I wouldn't look so smug if I were you; he seemed rather… annoyed on the phone"

"Good for him" I say.

"Now, I expect you two to apologise and wait outside while I talk to Mr. Morgenstern"

"Sorry Hodge" I say, walking out of the office and slumping into a seat.

It takes dad fifteen minutes to arrive, wearing a primp suit and a very stern expression. I see him striding down the corridor, my face involuntarily pales. He can walk in a straight line, good that means he's sober. Bad, that means he is more likely to take this seriously. Jonathon also straightened up next to me, albeit more in anger than fear. Dad glared at the two of us and strode into the office with a quick tap on the door. The wait was agonising, they took sooooo long to discuss one tiny playfight between siblings. When dad did come out he gave us a curt nod.

"Follow" He simply said, leading us out the entrance and all the way home. It was a very awkward silence, I could tell dad was putting his speech together already. As soon as the apartment door went click, he rounded on us.

"Jonathon I expected far more from you. Attacking your sister like that? A respectable man must never hit a girl! I raised you better than that. I don't want to hear of anymore squabbles from school or-"

"Or what? You already pick fights with me. What else can you do? Shout at me till I die?"

"Just go to your room"

"Sure, I like the company in there better anyway" he said, sauntering off and slamming the door. My turn.

"I am highly disappointed. Not only do you participate is such a trivial fight, I discover that you have been disrespecting a large amount of other teachers. You must always respect those above you! I expected more from you, you were always the mature lady. Where did that all go? Maybe moving you to this new school was a bad idea"

"But-" I start

"No buts. Unless you pick up your schoolwork, I will send you to another school. I heard there is a very highly praised Military Academy a few hours away. If I send you there you could find out how to behave! You can start by calling the principal Mr. Starkweather by his name, not Hodge. That is a childish thing!"

"I stopped being a child four years ago, _Dad_"

"I don't care what you think you are. I expect you and Jonathon to resolve the issue, unless you want to discuss your little squabble with me?"

"No I'm fine thanks" I say, making my way to Jonathon's bedroom. As soon as I enter the door, dad shuts it behind me and locks it.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?" I yell

"I'M NOT LETTING YOU TWO OUT UNTIL YOU CAN PROVE THAT YOU NO LONGER HAVE A PROBLEM"

"BUT I HAVE WORK!"

"THEN YOU BETTER MAKE IT QUICK"

I turn around and face Jonathon, who is flat on his back throwing a ball up in the air and catching it. I used to love being in his room, he still has a bunk bed. He and Sebastian sometimes share it when Valentine is too wasted to notice Sebastian's snuck in. When I had a nightmare when I was younger, I used to creep into his bedroom and sneak into the top-bunk. Mum always made sure the sheets were clean so I could use it. I'd always imagine Jon fighting all the monsters from my nightmares and I wouldn't be scared anymore. Now it gave me the chills to stand in the same room as my aggressive brother.

"We have to sort this out" I say, stating the obvious

"I heard" Jonathon says, still throwing the ball.

"Okay, then I am sorry for accusing you of being like him."

"Thanks"

"That's not how apologising works"

"I know"

"DAD, WE SORTED IT OUT!" I yell

"I DON'T BELIEVE YOU"

Le sigh. It was a really awkward pause. I decided to ask the question I've been dying to know.

"Does it help?"

Jonathon finally looks at me.

"Does what help?"

"Being drunk, or anything else you do"

He sits up.

"I don't actually like alcohol."

"You don't?"

"No, I hate the stuff, but you feel so high and free. You don't have to think about anything, it's just you and your mates doing whatever you want"

"I see"

"Thank you though"

"For what?"

"I noticed you, every time I had a hangover I'd always see breakfast in the morning and by some miracle I'd always be in bed."

"No problem I guess"

"But it is a problem. I want to stop but I don't know how and I don't want to either."

"I can't help you there"

"You need to go don't you?"

"Yeah, I gotta do my shift at Java Jones"

"Then I'm sorry for losing my cool. I still love you, even if I don't show it"

"Thank you, Jon" I smile

"It's okay Clare-bear"

"DAD, I'M GONNA BE LATE AND ME AND JONATHON HAVE TALKED ABOUT STUFF"

"IS THAT SO?"

"YEAH DAD, SHE NEEDS TO PAY OUR BILLS" Jonathon joins in.

I heard a click of the door, but before I could leave he envelops me in a bear hug.

"I'm still leaving. I can't stay with him in the house"

I nod and leave for work. After a loooong shift at Java's having to listen to Eric's awful poetry I get home to find Jonathon gone. Clothes and all. I also find Valentine wasted on the sofa. Life never stops does it?


	13. Eclectic Emotions

**Sorry I am such a bad human, I haven't updated in soooo long! As always, thx to new followers and reviews etc . Exams and all that stuff getting in ma way! A big hug to my faithful reviewers greygirl2358 and soccerlover21, I always love your reviews!**

**Disclaimer: OF COURSE I DON'T OWN THE RIGHTS etc. etc. Blah. blah**

**Jace (about one month later)**

I love everything about her. Her laugh, her sarcasm, her attitude, her beauty, her extreme weirdness, her geekyness and just about everything! The way she just…asdfghjkl. Yeah, I think I've fallen for her. I've began to notice everything she does and everything everyone else does around her. If anyone says something that I think will upset her I instantly hesitate. She constantly surprises me though; she'll take whatever people throw at her, usually with her own comebacks. Sometimes I notice her look sad, but then she smiles and almost convinces me she's okay. These moments are always minuscule, but they make me wonder just how badly she was affected by her mother's death. We shared a bit of our grief at the sleepover, but that was also when I noticed the bruises. Was she lying to Simon about them? I can't help but jump to the worst conclusions, at least she told us Jonathon moved out and I haven't seen any other injuries since. It doesn't help that other guys have started to notice her as well. Sebastian has become my number one enemy, the way he looks at her! He always tries to flirt with her, it's actually very funny. He'll say the cheesiest pick-up lines imaginable and she'll only throw it back in his face. Like the other day I heard him say:

"If there wasn't gravity on earth, I'd still fall for you"

Her reply had me laughing for a good few minutes and earned her a high five.

"Good luck, because I'm not going to catch you"

One of the many reasons I love Flame.

Alec and Ryse (**Maryse 's nickname**) have a bet going on that if I ask Clary out before Christmas, Alec gets a new x-box, which of course I get to share with him. This means that Alec has been pestering me ever since, constantly reminding me that I had 25 days to make a move. That means 25 days to ask Clarissa Morgenstern to be my girlfriend and boy did I want my Mr. Schnuffles back!

**Clary**

I was sat in class surrounded by the usual buzz of conversations. Jace was throwing Simon's pencil case around and Jordan was catching it. It was a friendly kind of teasing, so I didn't see the need to come to Simon's aid. I was doodling in my diary and Isabelle was fixing her make-up. It was a normal biology lesson. The wheeling sound of Miss. Penhallow pushing along the display table made everyone perk up in excitement. Boy an experiment! What innocent little victims can we dissect today!? Izzy nudged me and looked pointedly at the contents. Miss. Penhallow was beaming at us, showing-off a disgusting looking lump of meat, that I assumed was a heart on a chopping board, with a knife to dissect it lying beside it. I felt slightly queasy looking at it, but I thought nothing more of it. I tried to listen as she talked about the anatomy and scientific reasoning, but I wasn't really interested. Until she suddenly started stabbing and cutting it. My heart started to thunder and my vision went blurry. Her face morphed into the face of the killer, with the same terrifying psychotic smile. I no longer felt like I as in a classroom. I was in an alleyway. No, no, no! I saw it all again, I even _smelt_ it. Someone was constantly repeating my name and I was snapped back to reality like an elastic band. Everyone was looking at me. I stared wildly around, trying to piece together what had just happened. The tray was covered in blood; I freaked and could hear footsteps chasing me again.

**Run**.

I leap up from my chair and bolt from the classroom. I run and run, the footsteps becoming deafeningly loud as they gain on me. Tears threaten to spill and my vision goes blurry. I slow my pace, my legs beginning to ache. I look around, the corridor is empty and it is just me.

**Just me. **

I break down, sliding down against the wall and bawling my eyes out. I keep chanting "My fault" in my head again and again. I feel someone sit down beside me, I flinch away in shock, until I realise its Jace. Arms come up around me, and I find myself crying into his shirt. He sits there for ages in silence, waiting for me to stop crying. I did, eventually. When I couldn't cry anymore he started to talk.

"Whatever happened, it wasn't your fault-"

"How-"

"Shh, just listen. Besides, you've been repeating the same two words for minutes now. It wasn't your fault. You'll blame yourself for something you didn't do. You'll think of every single possible thing you could have done to prevent it and it'll crush you every day. You'll fight a mental battle just to make it through one day without crying or thinking bad thoughts. But you won't cry, you'll never cry. No-one should know how much it hurts. What's the point in dragging them into your pain? People will tell you it's not your fault; you'll nod and pretend to agree. Inside it won't change a thing. What do they know? They weren't there.

I blamed myself for years after my parent's car crash. I was there, right in the back. I was singing along to the music on the stereo and Dad was driving. We didn't see the madman driving on the wrong side of the road until they hit us. I was the only survivor. They told me there was nothing I could do. Maryse tried to send me to a psychiatrist. I hated it at first, I wasn't crazy, and they had no right! It helped you know. I was diagnosed with PTD (**Post Traumatic Distress**). They helped me to realise that blaming myself won't change a thing, it'll only make things worse. At first I hated the idea. I felt like I was betraying them by not taking the blame. Then, I realised that, if I had died, I wouldn't want anyone blaming themselves. I began to open up to Izzy and Alec; Max helped me a lot as well. You don't have to go through this alone Clary."

I was speechless, what can I say?

"Talking about what happened will help you. You can't keep all of that to yourself." He said. So I did, I told him every tiny detail.

"…I tried, I did everything I could, but the paramedics said she was already dead. Now I can't look at blood"

"Me too. I pass it off as being squeamish, but in actuality I can't face it all again. Car crashes are messy. Did they ever catch the killer?"

"No. I filled in a witness report and everything, but I haven't heard anything since"

Silence. We were still hugging and in that moment I noted how close I was getting to Jace, both physically and emotionally.

"Can I tell you a big secret?" Jace says, letting go of the hug, so we are sitting side by side.

"Sure if you want to" Trying to wipe away the last of the tears. My face must still be puffy from crying, but I still felt the need to worry about my appearance around him. He was my crush after all.

"I'm completely terrified of….ducks"

"Ducks?"

"They are horrible vile creatures"

"Okay then…. Actually, I do find a duck's opinion of me is very much influenced by whether or not I have bread."

He laughed. Boy, he had a sexy laugh. Sexy? What on earth!? I appear to have lost many something's small and round. Marbles. I have most definitely lost my marbles.

"I could never get close enough to feed them, let alone contemplate the duck's opinion of me" He reasoned.

"What're you so afraid of? That they're going to quack you to death?" I chide him. "That is the sound of impending doom, yes. They just….urgh" He must've ran out of good adjectives. He looked down and picked up a leaflet from the floor.

"Did you know 1 in 5 people are Chinese?" He read. Then he smirked. "Well. There are 5 people in my family, so it must be one of them. It's either my mum or my dad. Or my older brother Colin. Or my younger brother Ho-Cha-Chu. But I think its Colin"

"What's that from?" I ask through a giggle fit.

"Not sure. I probably made it up… probably."

Jace entertained me with many stories, including a very disturbing tale about the time that Alec drunk way too much beer. Let's just say that he's not going to be invited back to Woe for Woman Counseling Sessions again! I was in a much better mood than a half an hour ago, which was good because we were RUDELY interrupted by Miss. Ravenscar.

"What are you two doing out of class? Ditching lessons, Mr Lightwood?" We hurriedly stood up.

"No. Clary needed my help"

"Help? Help with skiving off class?"

"No Miss. I'm squeamish and we were dissecting hearts." I say quietly

"Then why are you here instead of medical?"

"Please, I don't want to explain right now. Just read my file, it'll tell you what you need to know" I pleaded.

"Wouldn't it be easier to tell me now? I can't just let this go"

"Look, if she doesn't want to tell you-" Jace argues

"This is important Mr. Lightwood-"

"Isn't this invading privacy or something? She-"

"No! Fine! I'll tell you! I have PTD and I had a flashback!" I pretty much yell. Jace looks at me in surprise and Ravenscar looks taken aback.

"PTD?" She asks.

"Yes, Post. Traumat-" Jace begins, in an annoyed tone

"I know what it means" She deadpans

"So, what's the problem?" He points out.

"Nothing. Just get back to class, you only have a few minutes until the end of the lesson, so you may as well apologies to the teacher for your absence."

"Fine" He says, taking off down the corridor. I follow behind him, walking faster to catch up.

"Hey, you wanna go to Taki's with me tonight?" Jace asks.

"Sure"

He grins.

"Good, I'll pick you up after school"

I was ecstatic from his offer the whole day, a big smile on my face. Of course, the rumors about my science freak-out spread quickly, but I chose to ignore that. Jace practically asked me out! It was all going so well, when Kaelie confronted me after my last lesson, before I even had a chance to reach my locker.

"Well, isn't it the Science Freak?"

"Well aren't you a waste of two billion years of evolution?" I retort. Her cronies don't seem to know what to do at that. Doesn't anyone else talk back? Probably not, they think she's _so _scary.

"At least I'm not scared of blood. I heard you ran straight out of that classroom, didn't even dissect anything. Pathetic"

"You look like someone who's number should be on a bathroom wall. So, why don't you slip into something more comfortable…like a coma." I say shaking my fist at her.

Shocked faces, a considerable crowd had gathered to observe.

"Just because you play rough and tumble with your brother, it doesn't make me scared of you" She says advancing forward.

"That makes you stupid, I mean everyone has the right to be stupid, but you are abusing the privilege!"

"You think you're so clever don't you, Morgenstern?"

"Why of course, we all know I'm amazing. You know, without the word ME in AWESOME it'd just be AWESO"

"If ignorance is bliss, you must be the happiest person alive" She relies smugly.

"Wow! That must have taken more than one brain cell, it's a miracle! The other day, I heard you went to have your head examined but the doctors found nothing there!"

"Well apparently I do have a brain. The other day, I heard my new _boyfriend _Jonathon talking about how drunk your dear daddy gets. Must be hard living with another freak, Jonathon couldn't stand you, even your own mum couldn't. She probably let herself die"

My heart thundered in my chest, roaring through my ears. I clenched my fist, trying my best not to strangle her.

"Shut up" I say quietly

"What was that?"

"I SAID, SHUT-UP!"

A few passersby stop to stare at us.

"Wow, at least _I _don't have anger issues. Come to think of it, you probably stabbed her yourself. You _are_ psycho enough"

I slap her full in the face and storm-off. I need to calm down, fast.

**Jace**

I waited by my bike for at least 15 minutes, no-one seemed to know where Clary was. She hadn't forgotten had she? Simon and the others had already left without her. Frustrated, I wander back into the school. The corridor was empty apart from one girl struggling to fit all her books in her bag.

"Hey, have you seen Clarissa Morgenstern?" I ask her.

"No, I haven't." She replies, now trying to shut her locker with one hand. I offered to take her bag and she blushed but accepted and used both hands to shut her locker. I noticed that (before I met Clary) she would have been my type. She had Clary's shade of green eyes and Isabelle's black hair but it was curly and wild. Like Clary's, and also no make-up, also like Clary. Focus Jace, focus.

"But, I heard the plastic lot saying that she slapped Kaelie. I don't know why, but I'm going to assume that Kaelie was being mean."

That sounds about right.

"Thank you, what's your name?" I say, giving back her bag.

"Amaranta"

"Jace" I say, shaking her hand.

"Yeah, I know"

I salute to her as I leave in search for Clary.

After minutes of aimless wandering, I hear the sound of a piano. Clary? I move towards the noise, it getting louder as I approach the corridor near the art rooms. A cleaner was mopping the floor, humming to the music out loud.

"She's good ain't she?" He says in a heavy Scottish accent, once he noticed me standing there.

"Yeah she is. Does she always play?"

"Nah. Only Thursday's and Friday's"

"Awesome…" I say, pushing open the door as quietly as possible. There she was, sitting at the piano in a dusty hall, the only light shining through one of the thick curtains making it look like she was in the spotlight. She was also singing and it was the most angelic singing I've ever heard. She has her eyes closed and looked like she was entranced by the music. I approach as quietly as possible, not wanting to scare her or make her stop. Unfortunately, my phone decides to ring. Her eyes fly open, she lets out a little shriek and falls backwards, tipping the piano stall and crashing into the floor.

**Clary**

As soon as I saw Jace I panicked and felt myself tipping backwards. Oh noes! I hit the floor in one embarrassing crash, my bottom smashing into the floor. Jace rushes over and offers me a hand, helping me up and also picking the stool back up in the process.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Are you okay?" He asked with concern edged across his features.

"I think I've broke ma butt" I complain, still embarrassed that he caught me singing.

"How tragic, do you want me to kiss it better?" Jace smirks.

"No, I'm fine thanks" I blush, darned Jace Lightwood!

"Mind if I join you?" He asks me, gesturing to the piano.

"Er..sure" I say, sitting on the left side, Jace takes my right.

"You play really well."

"Thanks"

"Why do you stay in here though?"

I look away embarrassed.

"I don't have a piano at home anymore-but I used to. Dad taught me how to play, Jon is way better than me though"

"Jonathon? Playing the piano?" He raises an eyebrow.

"A strange concept I know"

"Why did you get rid of it then?" He presses.

"I didn't. Valentine did. We were running short on money, so he put it on eBay."

"Oh okay. Why do you call him Valentine and not Dad?"

I decide to change the topic.

"Why were you stalking me anyway?"

Thankfully Jace doesn't pester me about his previous question.

"I was under the impression that we had a date tonight"

Oh shiz, I'd totally forgotten in my haste to get way from Kaelie.

"I'm sorry. I-"

"Don't apologize, Amaranta told me what happened."

"Who's Amaranta?"

"Some girl I met in the corridor"

"Cool"

"Do you wanna play for me?"

"Sure"

I played a little awkwardly at first, but then I completely forgot about Jace and got a bit carried away. I had just hit a very angry chord when I realized Jace was still thee.

"What did the piano ever do to you? You play it like you've lost your one true love" He teases.

"Oh, well my only love remains to be myself"

"At least you don't have to worry about rejection"

"Nah! I'll turn myself down occasionally, just to make it interesting. Although I did once have this one imaginary boyfriend called Gary. Things went downhill when he fell in love with Simon's imaginary girlfriend. Those were the sad times"

He chuckles.

"So, you know any good piano duets?" He enquires

"No, not really. I usually make things up."

"Awesome. We can always start with Chopsticks."

"Classic"

Jace taught me all the necessary notes, while I tried in vain to ignore the fact that it was Jace sitting next to me, we don't want me drooling over the piano! I had to admit, we made a very good duo. In under 20 minute we had accomplished a whole piece together.

"Everything works better in two's" Jace says afterwards, swiveling round to face me.

"Yeah, I guess it does."

He studies me for a long time, pushing a strand out of my hair and tucking it behind my ear. Instead of taking his hand away, like I expected him to, he leaves it resting on side of my neck. He leaned in until the distance between us was closed. My brain decided to shut down and all I was capable of thinking was 'looky here! Jace Lightwood is your first kiss, well done we're so proud of you!" I have an awesome subconscious. Then my treacherous body said 'breathe, breathe you stupid woman'. Alas, I had to pull away, only far enough to catch my breath though. Jace's golden eyes were the only thing I could see, well actually no, his whole face was very close so I could see a lot more, but I preferred to look at his eyes.

"Was that your first kiss?" Jace asks.

"Yeah and you?"

"It's the first time _I've _kissed someone else. Usually I only flirt, although some woman do get the wrong message and then can't resist my gorgeous looks."

"Modest much?"

"I'm a humble person, really. I'm actually much greater than I think I am."

I rub his nose in an Eskimo kiss.

"You still wanna be just friends?" He asks.

"Unless you're into friends with benefits, then the answer is yes. Although you do need to make more of an effort."

"More of an effort?"

"Yeah, you gotta find the right way of asking. Like… will you be the cheese to my macaroni, that sort of thing. I'm not saying yes until you hit the spot"

"Ooh! The pressure!" He sits back, thinking 'hard'. "The ying to my yang?"

"Unoriginal. Try again."

"The frosting to my cake?"

"Getting there"

"The smile to my face?"

"Keep them coming"

"What do ya want from me woman?"

"That doesn't count"

He huffs and makes a sulky face. Then the corner of his lips turn up again.

"The Leah to my Skywalker?"

"Ooh, getting better"

"The Ginny to my Harry?"

"Too close, dude"

"The Watson to my Sherlock"

"Very, very, very close" I say, ruffling his hair.

"The Amy to my Rory?"

I hesitate, just to tease him some more and then practically throw myself at him. Yes I'll admit it was a very passionate kiss.

This is also where my subconscious would also like me to shut-up and enjoy the moment. I agree.

Somehow, when we finally break away, I'm pressed up against the lid of the grand piano.

"So, how about coffee?" He says, taking my hand and pulling my off the piano. I skip next to him all the way to his bike, in a far better mood than this morning. This time when I hop on his bike it feels more comfy, squished behind Jace. We walk into Taki's still holding hands, the shop didn't look like much but I trusted Jace's opinions. I recognized a few students from school in the corner, they all eye us in surprise and most of the girls looked like they wanted to rip us apart and snog Jace in a closet. I ignore them as best as I can. Jace slides into one side of a booth and I slide into the one opposite.

"So, our first date. What do you want to eat? You're not a vegetarian are you?" He asks, by now it is around dinner time.

"I didn't fight my way to the top of the food chain to be a vegetarian"

"I suppose you can look at it that way"  
"Uh huh" I say, scanning the menu. I could blaspheme and go for a salad or listen to my stomach who says Burger. Salad or Burger? Who am I kidding!?

"Burger, fries and a coffee"

"I see someone's on a diet"

"Yeah it's doing me wonders. I'll consider going overboard and having fruit salad aswell"

"I'll have what you're having actually, minus the fruit salad. We want to keep me in good shape, so I think I'll have chocolate cake instead"

"You're in shape. Round is a shape isn't it?"

"Oi! Cheeky that damages my ego"

"I'm sure it does"

Jace was content to play with my fingers whilst we waited for the busy waitress. It was adorable and made my heart melt inside. That wasn't going to be good for my internal organs!

"What can I get you two?" A feminine voice asked. I jump and look up to see Aline, my friend from Java Jones.

"Aline?"

"Clary? Why are you here? I've never seen you visit before"

"Jace wanted to go here, I didn't know you took another shift at a different café!"

"Yeah I do." She turned to Jace. "Hello. You must be Jace." She said.

"Hullo" He replied.

_This. Is. Awkward. _

"Clary never said she had a boyfriend before"

"Well, he's me!"

She took our orders, but before she left she ripped of a piece of paper from her notepad and handed it to me. She then flounced off to give the chef our order. I looked at the piece of paper.

'_**You are telling me **__**everything **__**at Java's. How come you got such a cute guy? Why is life so cruel!?' **_

I smile, Aline always complains about being forever alone.

"Passing love notes are we?"

"Shut-up"

"That hurts" He says clutching his heart.

We chatted about stuff until our dinner arrived, delivered by an over enthusiastic Aline. We ate in silence, boy this food tasted good!

I start on my coffee, pouring one of the milk sachets into the mug.

"I've always wondered who the first person was to see a cow and think "I wonder what will happen if I squeeze these dangly things and drink the white stuff that comes out?" Jace says.

I laugh with the coffee still in my mouth and in my bid to not spit it out over him I swallow it and nearly choke.

"You okay?" Jace asks.

"Yup" I say, finally catching my breath. Jace also had something to say about my fruit salad, which wasn't a surprise.

"Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad."

"Yes and Philosophy is wondering if that means ketchup is a smoothie" I counteract, as I had entertained those thoughts before.

"You're pretty good"

"I know"

Jace's phone beeped then. He scrolled through and looked at the text, smiling to himself as he read it.

"Can I take a phone call to Alec?"

"Sure, go ahead"

"Oh and we kind of had this bet that if I asked you out before Christmas, Ryse would give Alec an x-box. He just wanted to know how our first date went and (by the way) I would have asked you out anyway, so don't worry, this just adds a little extra fun"

I was a little flummoxed as Jace took the call from Alec. This is what I could make of the conversation.

"Hey Alec"

….

"Yup. Go tell Mum"

…..

"Mother, I regret to inform you that Clarissa Morgenstern has graciously accepted my proposal" (he winks at me) "Therefore you find yourself bestowing us one free x-box"  
…..

There was a lot of yes's and no's, before he ended the conversation.

"It's your birthday soon isn't it?"

"Yeah, a few days, why?"

"As your boyfriend I am obliged to give you a present"

"Oh you don't have to"

"Of course I do and it's also Christmas soon, so you get two presents from me. Count yourself lucky!"

"I do." I reply.

Jace endured my weirdness for the rest of the night (don't judge me I had a caffeine overdose, okay?) and drove me home around 9.00pm. When I got home I expected to be yelled at, but Dad has been rather relaxed lately. Actually, come to think about it, Valentine hasn't made an appearance since Jonathon left. I count my blessings as I flop down unto my bed. Jace was my _boyfriend_; even the thought makes me smile.

**Boyfriend**… I think as I fall into a deep, welcoming sleep. 


	14. Unique Understanding

**So! Guess what? THERE IS A FORBIDDEN PLANET WHERE I LIVE! I was fangirling so bad, there was even a long haired dude at the counter. Totally awesome. Thx to Guest and other reviewers for their enthusiasm and welcome to le new followers! **

**Clary**

Whoop whoop! 10th of December, ma 17th birthday! (**Don't kill me, I know it's probably not her birthday in the book, but I mentioned it was soon before and I wanted to do a Christmas special****)**. I'm not as tired as usual as I struggle to wake myself up in the morning. For once I'm actually excited; Jace is taking me to school and everything will be perfect! Dad even gives me a hug and birthday greeting (kind of creeped me out, but hey! Spread the love). I bound down the steps towards Jace and was met with "You are sixteen, going on seventeen…"

It takes me a while to realise what he is doing, but I soon catch on that he is singing The Sound of Music to me. I pull an ugly face.

"Stop being so embarrassing!" I complain, trying to be serious, but not able to conceal my smile. He envelops me in a hug.

"Happy Birthday, Flame!"

"Thanks, Ducky"

"Ducky?" He says, taking me by the shoulders.

"Yeah, baby ducklings have blonde hair and since you love ducks so much…"

He rolls his eyes.

"Just get on the bike"

"Ladies first!" I say, watching him climb on and then hopping on behind him.

"Most girlfriends are kind to their boyfriends" He huffs, revving the engine.

"Dude, I think your ego can take a little beating, it's already too big"

"I hate you," he jokes, starting to drive off.

"No you don't!" I shout above the billowing wind.

When we arrived at school some people still stop and stare at us. We've only been going out for 10 days so it's to be expected. When we first came into school holding hands, I got the dirtiest looks from all of Jace's fan club. It was rather amusing. Jonathon gave a very long speech about how I was "integrating with the enemy" and that I should "just ditch him now". I politely refused his advice and now he won't speak to me. Such a drama queen!

The day was perfect! Izzy brought in cake (she baked it supervised by Ryce, thankfully) and I got loads of presents!

Simon brought me the One Ring from LOTR and I was chuffed.

Alec brought me Forbidden Planet vouchers, although I'd probably end up spending it all on Max as last time I took him he nearly brought the whole shop!

Izzy brought me a Despicable Me t-shirt - apparently it took all she had not to buy me high heels!

Jaia brought me chocolate, but Maia also brought me lots of books from Luke's bookstore. Apparently he'd been saving them up for me and asked Maia to give them to me.

Jace brought me a beautiful necklace with this weird symbol on it, kind of like a messed up triangle. The shopkeeper had said it was an ancient angelic rune that dispelled demons.

We are sat eating my cake when I notice that Jace was being distant. I followed his gaze to see a girl sitting by herself under a tree, listening to music.

"Who's that?" I ask him.

"Amaranta, you know, that girl I met yesterday. She hasn't eaten anything at all for the whole for lunch," he answers, obviously concerned for her. I know better than to be jealous. Jace was only worried, and she looked so lonely.

"I'll bring her some cake," I announce, scooping up a piece and carrying it (on a napkin) to her. She doesn't notice me until I sat down. She takes out her earphones.

"Hello? Can I help you?"

"I just wanted to offer you some cake. You looked kind of alone here; Jace told me you helped find me yesterday"

She looks taken aback, unused to my kindness.

"I didn't do anything, honestly. I was the only person he could have asked."

"Doesn't matter. Cake?" I say again, offering up the slice.

"Err..."

"Come on, it's chocolate!"

"Okay…" She says, taking it. I notice that she has bruises over her hands. She probably has them all over her arms too. It's obvious why - or at least it's obvious to me. She continues to eat the cake.

"Why are you really here?" she says when she's finished, still sceptical.

"I'm not going to do anything bad to you; I just hate seeing people alone." I look down at her headphones "I guess you like music?"

"Yeah…"

"Can you play any instruments?"

"I used to play piano, but not anymore. We, err, had to get rid of it. Too much space." She mumbles.

"Same. Can I show you something?"

"Sure. Why not?"

I stand up and she follows me through the school. I notice the other students give her bad looks and she tries to shy away from them. I hate people sometimes. The art corridor is empty and I push my way through the door, making sure she's still following me.

"Wow!" She exclaims, astonished.

"Yup! This is the place I come when I need time alone"

Her eyes rest on the piano.

"Can I-? I mean am I allowed to…?"

"Play on the piano? Sure. No one's ever stopped me before"

I watch her as she drifts over and runs her hands over the keys. I understand everything that's going through her mind. She starts to play hesitantly, but then gets more entranced by the music. It makes me sad, watching something so beautiful, but knowing that there is a broken person underneath it all. She stops and looks at me.

"Thank you," she whispers. I come forward and lean against the piano.

"How old are you?" I ask.

"Fifteen. It's your seventeenth today, right?"

I nod.

"Happy Birthday."

"Thanks. I play every Thursday and Friday, but I'm happy to let you go here instead."

"I won't, I promise. Anyway, I wouldn't be allowed time out of school."

"Okay, but you can have lunches in here"

"Yeah, that'd be nice"

I feel so powerless to help her. I take out a piece of paper and write my number down.

"I want you to call me if you want to talk about anything. Trust me, I'll understand"

To my surprise she takes the paper.

"Thank you so much."

"Don't worry about it. I'll leave you alone now, if that's okay with you?"

"Yeah, go ahead"

I feel lighter as I leave the room, hoping that I had made even a small difference to someone else's life.

I wander back to our bench with a new spring to my step.

"Hey, where'd you go? Jordon ate all the cake!" Maia exclaims.

"I was just helping someone else." I turn to Jordon. "The poison should kick in around midnight tonight, so you'd better watch out!"

He momentarily turns pale. Simon bursts out laughing, and we all join in.

The others soon go back to their previous conversation.

"Hey" Jace says, slipping his hands around my waist and resting his chin on my shoulder. "Where did you take her?"

"Guess."

"The piano hall?"

"Yeah. I'm worried about her."

"Why?" Jace asks, spinning me around to face him.

"She's obviously abused. She wasn't eating and-"

He kisses me, cutting off my rant.

"Eww! Get a room!" Izzy exclaims.

Jace breaks away.

"Sorry Isabelle, but not all of us are forever alone."

I ignore the argument they have, until Jace lifts my chin up again.

"Clary, there was nothing more you could have done. You've already been kinder than the whole of the school put together. She'll be fine; we'll be keeping an eye on her. Don't worry over someone you don't know very well."

"Alright" I sigh, defeated. I turn to kiss him on the cheek, but he moves his head at the last second.

"Come on!"

"What? We're already going out!"

I forgot about Amaranta. The rest of my birthday was a blast! Jace intercepted me at every blooming moment, claiming that my birthday wouldn't be good if he wasn't in the picture. He's probably the vainest guy I've ever met.

**Okay. Sorry guys. Amaranta is my OC, but I wanted to use her as an example of Clary's kindness and how she doesn't want to see other people suffer as much as her. Christmas special next chapter!**


	15. Cracking Christmas

**Merry Christmas everyone! This chapter is mainly a filler, but whatevs. **

**Yoyoyo (guest): I live in London, so I guess it's not a surprise there's a Forbidden Planet nearby! And that's awesome that you're related to the SOM people! **

It's the last day of term and we're sitting at our usual bench.

"Do you want to come to our house for Christmas?" Izzy asks and, before I can answer, she continues, "You can stay the whole holidays! It's gonna be amazing! We can go shopping, you can see Jace, we can have parties, go to Pandemonium, build a snowman, watch movies-"

I clamp my hand down on her mouth.

"Shhh! Isabelle. Breathe."

She nods and I release my hand

"Yeah, I'll come."

"You will?" Jace asks, surprised.

"As long as Rob and Ryse allow me to. I want to, I really do. Besides, Dad has already told me that he's off with some 'mates' over Christmas. I am definitely not spending the whole Christmas break by myself!"

"That would be a little lonely, yes," Jace reasons.

"Clary, you can always come to mine on Christmas Eve because mum hasn't seen you in a while and wonders how you're doing. We haven't finished playing Skyrim yet, either!" Simon suggests.

"Sure" I reply, feeling guilty about spending more time with Jace than Simon.

"Okay, so that's sorted. Mum says you can sleep in my room. She thought it safer to keep you and Jace in separate rooms," Isabelle winks, making me blush. "You can go home and pack and I'll pick you up around 5:00."

"Sounds like a plan," I say.

And that's exactly how it happens; I pack and wait until Izzy arrives. Saying a quick goodbye to Dad, I rush out to meet her in the car.

"This is going to be so much fun!" she squeals, turning the Christmas music on the radio to full volume. When we arrive at the Lightwoods' house, everything just flows into one big pile of festivities. Only one thing starts to bother me - everyone is talking about presents and I can't afford to buy anyone anything. I decide to talk to Maryse while I help her with the washing up.

"Maryse, I'm really, really sorry. You've welcomed me into your home and I can't give you back anything in return. As much as I want to, I can't afford presents."

"Don't apologise, it's my pleasure to have you. Go shopping with Izzy. I'll pay for everything."

I'm shocked. "No, no, I can't take anything more from you."

"Nonsense, if I can afford a daughter like Isabelle, I can afford to give you money! Besides, you're doing wonders for Jace. I've never seen him so happy."

"Thank you so much!"

"It's a pleasure."

Shopping with Isabelle takes way longer than I expected, but she knows the shops like the back of her hand. I can see what Ryse meant about affording a daughter like her; I buy more than I ever have in my life and she still manages to carry double the bags I have! I get presents for everyone, even Jace's grandma, Imogen Herondale, who's coming round on 'Christmas Eve Eve'.

Jace and I have a bet going on that whoever first gets Izzy and Simon to kiss under the mistletoe on Christmas Eve (it doesn't count anywhere else!) gets anything they want from the other. I've got to persuade Izzy and Jace has to persuade Simon. So I've invited Simon and his mum round to the Lightwood's for Christmas Eve to make things a bit easier. After sharing a room with Izzy for a night, I've managed to persuade her to give it a shot, meaning that I have a very high chance of winning the bet.

We are watching TV when the doorbell rings, announcing the arrival of Jace's grandmother. Jace sprints to the door, throwing it open, and I scamper after him.

"Hello, Jace! And who's this?" Isabelle Herondale asks, pointing towards me.

"This is Clary, my girlfriend. You know, the girl I was talking to you about."

She smirks - should grandmas smirk? It's kinda odd, but I guess she is related to Jace.

"Well, it's a good thing I knitted two Christmas jumpers then!"

Both Jace and I go a deep shade of red. Imogen steps past us to greet the others. Later on that evening, Imogen produces two homemade woollen Christmas jumpers and forces Jace into one. He looks adorable, especially with the reindeer and everything. I use the bathroom as an excuse to prolong my dignity, and am chilling in the kitchen with Alec when Jace comes thundering up to me, a determined smile on his face, holding the dreaded Christmas jumper.

"I'm not letting you get away that easily!"

I shriek and make a run for it, not entirely sure where I'm headed. I find myself in the living room. Jace appears to have disappeared.

"Jace?" I call.

Suddenly he jumps out of nowhere, tackling me to the ground.

"Gotcha," he grins, forcing my arms through sweater.

"Nooooo! My dignity!" I try to pry him off me, but he doesn't let me go, admiring his handiwork instead.

"Aww, you look cute! See, we have matching sweaters."

"Get off me!"

"Nope," he says, leaning in. Someone clears their throat. Robert is standing awkwardly in the doorway.

"We were just about to start a game of cards, you kids wanna play?"

Jace detaches himself and offers his hand to help me up.

The next day we spy on Sizzy, waiting for the moment and giving them signals to hint at our suggestion. When Izzy finally gives in and asks to show Simon something, we wait a few seconds and then sneak out behind them. We take our place under the table, conveniently placed near the mistletoe and hidden from their view. I'm convinced that I'm going to win, as Izzy was obviously flirting, but Simon is holding his own. And when the moment comes, Simon leans in first.

"NOOOOO!" I yell, standing up and revealing our hiding place.

They both break apart in shock.

"Clary? What're you doing?" Simon asks, confused. I turn to Izzy.

"Why couldn't you have leaned in first? Huh? Why is the world so cruel?"

Jace laughs.

"Looks like you've lost."

I mock shock and fake faint. Jace catches me, which was good, cause the floor would've hurt.

"Oh no, I think we're losing her" Jace exclaims, tickling me. I thrash about, laughing.

"I don't think the CPR is working, the only thing for it is the kiss of life," he says, leaning in before I can protest.

"You're cute and all, but what on earth is going on?" Izzy asks, annoyed.

I force Jace off me and stand up to give an explanation. Come to think of it, I've been doing a lot of prying Jace off me recently. I hope it doesn't become a thing.

"Well, we kinda had this bet as to who would lean in first…"

"You what!" Simon yells.

"Oh come on! The sexual tensions were high - don't think we hadn't noticed. We just wanted to encourage you a bit," Jace argues.

Izzy turns and grabs Simon, kissing him on the mouth. Jace breaks off, startled. After quite a while, Isabelle finally lets Simon go.

"Happy now? Now you both win the bet," she grins, smugly.

"Yes! I love you Izzy!" I exclaim.

"Yeah, I know, we're getting married in a few months."

"Are we? I must've been drunk. I can't remember proposing."

We fall about laughing. We've got our own private joke about our 'relationship', even though we're both obviously straight.

"Okay… but well done Simon! I'm impressed you had the guts to make the first move," Jace says, saluting the other boy.

"Thanks, I guess…." Simon mutters, blushing violently.

Everything goes back to normal, apart from now Izzy gossips uncontrollably and has a permanent smile on her face.

The night before Christmas I can't sleep. I haven't had any nightmares at all since staying at the Lightwoods, but the threat still hangs over my head. Suddenly, I hear a muffled yell through the walls, but it's so quiet that I'm not sure if I've heard right. Then it happens again. This time it's louder and I'm sure it's Jace. I pluck up the courage to leave my cosy sleeping bag and creep out into the corridor. It's pitch black and freezing, the only thing to guide me being the sound coming from Jace's bedroom. I slowly push open his door, revealing a topless Jace thrashing around on his bed, his covers getting netted around him. Nightmares. I'm sure of it. I flick on his bedside light and shake him awake, terrified he'll lash out at me. His eyes fly open and he yelps when he sees me, falling off the other side of the bed. I can't help but laugh at him, despite my worrying.

"Clary! You scared me to death! What're you doing in my bedroom?" He says, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh yunno, I just couldn't resist you."

"Is that a compliment, Flame?"

"You better savour it! I actually came because I heard you yelling. Was it another nightmare?"

"Yeah," he says, looking down at his feet. "Will you stay with me tonight?"

"Erm…I don't know if Ryce will allow it"

"She doesn't have to know. Don't tell me you don't want a piece of this!" He grins, gesturing to his chiselled abs. Woah! He definitely works out.

"But still…"

"Do I need to remind you that I won that bet?"

"But you didn't. Izzy leaned in as well, and she succeeded!"

"Yes, but _after _Simon did."

"So, you want this as your reward?"

"Pwease, pwease, pwease?" Jace begs, using his best puppy eyes.

"Fine, but don't let Maryse catch us."

"You're the best!" Jace says, hopping into his bed and making room for me to climb in and snuggle up with him.

"Love you," Jace says into my shoulder.

"Love you too, ducky," I reply, switching the light off.

In the end we have to do some awesome ninja skills to avoid anyone seeing us. But it doesn't matter if anyone does see us, anyway, because everyone's really excited about Christmas and doesn't have time for mundane things like telling us off.

Christmas at the Lightwoods' is perfect, literally everything you could want. Loads of presents, fun, laughter and games. We even act out the nativity, where Imogen forces us all to play the parts. Of course, none of us end up with appropriate roles! Alec is Mary and Izzy is Joseph (with a moustache). Max, Robert and I are the wise men and the Lightwoods' cousins, who are around for the day, are the shepherds. Jace is the angel (because of his 'angelic' looks - as if) but insists on playing every spare role. I can't believe that boy's ego!

My presents are also awesome, but my favourite by far is what Jace gives me. I unwrap the present to find Mr. Schnuffles! I'll admit, he gets a kiss for that. I shall forever cherish that little teddy, from the bottom of my heart, to the top of my sternum.

* * *

**MERRY CHRISTMAS! :)**


	16. Disgusting Discovery

**Thanks, all you lovely people for reviewing! They maketh me feel loved! **

**Clary**

_**Hey, Clary. I was wondering if you could come home for New Years. There's someone I'd like you to meet – Dad **_

I read the text over the table at breakfast with the Lightwood's. It was New Years today and I _really _wanted to spend it with them. Something inside me told me that I didn't want to meet this mysterious person, but family before friends. I say a sad goodbye to the Lightwood's (involving many bone-crushing hugs) and head out into the cold air towards home.

_**Sure I'll be right over – Clary **_

The reply text is almost instantaneous.

_**Thanks Clary – Dad **_

I tuck my scarf behind my shoulder and climb the apartment steps. I fumble with my numb fingers for the keys, finally locating the right one and putting it into the lock with a click. The sight that greets me is a million times worse than what I was prepared for. A pretty older woman with long dark brown hair and obvious muscle was snogging the face off my dad. _MY DAD WAS SNOGGING MISS RAVENSCAR! _

"WHAT... THE…HELL!?" I shout, they break apart and Dad stands up from their perch on the sofa.

"Language, Clarissa." He says sternly.

"Oh, there are much more unprintable words I can think of to describe this right now!"

He pinches the bridge of his nose.

"Clary, I'd like you to meet my _girlfriend _Natalie" He says calmly.

"Oh I know who she is! BY THE ANGEL DAD SHE'S MY P.E TEACHER!"

"You think I don't know that!" He snaps "I met her at a meeting, discussing your behaviour actually" He starts to ramble on dreamily "Then I saw her again at a military meeting, and she's also an ex-army sergeant…"

"I DON'T CARE HOW YOU MET!I _CARE _THAT YOU'RE GOING OUT!" I almost scream in frustration.

"AND YOU SHOULDN'T! IT'S A NEW YEAR, NEW START, NEW LIFE AND I CAN HAVE A NEW GIRLFRIEND IF I WANT TO" He yells back.

"New start…that's what you want? You want to forget mum, didn't you care at all?" I say quieter now.

"It's been FOUR years, Clarissa!"

"I know! It's been four years of me picking up after you!" I turn to my P.E teacher, who looks incredibly awkward. "Do you know anything about him? What he does?"

She looks confused.

"Of course I know him, he's my boyfriend"

"Did you know he-"

"SHUT UP!" Dad booms, grabs my upper arm and pulls me close to him, so he can talk into my ear.

"If you value your freedom, you'll keep your mouth shut" He murmurs in a dangerous voice.

"Shouldn't she know the truth of your…drinking _habits_" I murmur back. His fingers squeeze my arm harder.

"I don't usually believe in violence, but if you say one more word to her about me…I just might change my values" I shiver involuntarily.

"If you want violence, why don't you go back to the army?" I hiss and push away from him, backing towards the door.

"You couldn't do one thing for me, could you? I do everything for you unfailingly for _four _years and you couldn't keep your hands off _her. _If you can't do it for me, do it for…_mum_" I say quietly, tears brimming in my eyes.

I can't let them see me cry, so I turn around fumble at the door and fling it open. I hear one last stern "Clarissa" from my father as I charge out of the room and collapse against the wall, letting the tears flow. I hear footsteps coming out of my apartment and I run down the stairs, eyes blurry.

I hear Dad yell and I keep running. I can't stop, I keep running and running. City landscape flies past me as I fight my way through the crowds, maybe if I run I won't have to face the truth? I eventually have to stop out of pure exhaustion. The tears are still miraculously flooding my cheeks.

"You alright?" A voice asks. I whirl around, trying to locate the source of the noise. I find that a dirty, middle aged man is staring up at me kindly from his beggar's position on the floor.

"I'm fine, thanks" I say, sniffing and wiping my eyes.

"Well, you don't look fine to me. Why don't you sit down and talk to me about it?" _Why don't I sit down next to a completely strange homeless man and talk about my life? Yeah, why not? What have I got to lose? _I slump down onto the dirty pavement next to him.

"Your boyfriend dump you or somethin'?"

I laugh.

"No. My dad's new girlfriend"

"Nahh! Dat ain't so bad. Unless she's an ugly stepmother, then that's always bad"

_He's actually funny… _I feel guilty for judging him wrong previously.

"Someone's been watching too many Disney Movies"

"Nah, not all dat new technical stuff, good ol' broadway Cinderella! You'se pretty enough to be a princess anyways"

"Thanks"

"So, tell an ol' fella, what's wrong with ye dad's new gal?"

"She also happens to be my school P.E teacher" I grimace "and it feels like Dad's abandoning my mum" He nods.

"How long since?"

"Four years"

"A man's gotta move on in life. Give 'im some space, and maybe you'll find she ain't so bad"

"That's easy for you to say" I grumble

"Now, now don't be like that. It's the new year, you gotta celebrate the past and move on into the new."

_Maybe I should. But I can't, I know I can't. Dad's a drunkard! The only reason he stopped was to impress his girlfriend. All the years his own daughter has tried and he turns a blind eye, then when one woman marches in, suddenly he's sober again! And then there's what he said… "I don't usually believe in violence, but if you say one more word to her about me…I just might change my values". It's what I've been terrified of for years; it's what Simon's been worried about. How could he say something like that!? _

"What if the man you're trying to forgive is a drunkard? What if he breaks his promises too many times?"

The man thinks for a while. "From the great words of the bible "**Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus says to the man, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.**" You gotta remember to forgive him, no matter what he done, he's still your own blood."

"And you forgive whoever caused you to be on the streets?"

"Yeah. It took awhile, but I know someday I'll find a home. All I've ever wanted is to see my kids again…but I messed up."

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't be. S'not your fault."

I want to be like the man. I want to be able to move on like that, but my anger is still brewing and I know that forgiving him would take time.

"I'll think about it, forgiving him I mean"

He nods his understanding.

"You take care of yourself"

"I will" I stand-up and stretch out. He remains on the floor.

"What street is this?"

"Flatbush Avenue"

"Are you always here?"

"Yeah most of the time"

"Is there anything I can do for you? "

"No. Just keep smiling for me"

I smile, toss my spare change into his pot and reluctantly walk off. I know where I'm headed, so it's not a surprise when I end up outside the graveyard gates. I need to make a decision.

The graveyard is eerily quiet, the door slamming shut behind me. I only usually visit once a year... I shiver, the cold air sending chills down my spine. The floor is covered in frost that crackles underneath my feet; the gravestone's decorated with a white sheen. It's so cold, even the pond has frozen over. When I finally reach my mother's grave, I remember that I forgot flowers. _Again…Where's that blonde idiot when you need him? _I kneel in front of the gravestone.

"Hey…mum. Dad's got a new girlfriend…I don't know what to think. He didn't even choose someone I don't know, he just _had _to go pining over my P.E Teacher! It feels so…wrong; does this mean he doesn't love you anymore? Am I meant to just be okay with it? I don't know what to do…"

I reasoned with the gravestone for hours, trying to come to a decision, it felt good though, getting all my feelings out. By the time I left the graveyard, the sky was darkening. I feel completely exhausted, as I climb the steps for a second time. _Damn, I left my keys when I ran out…_I very reluctantly have to ring the doorbell. Just my luck, Miss Ravenscar is the one to open the door.

"Clary!" She exclaims.

"Hi" I mumble, pushing past her and into the apartment. I just want to sleep…my bed's never been so inviting before. I'm half way towards my bedroom when dad speaks up, _damn, damn, damn, damn, damn! _

"Clary…" He starts.

"What!?" I snap back at him. I'm too tired for all this. He shoots me a disapproving look before continuing.

"We were wondering if you'd like to have dinner with us and wait for the count down like usual" _Like usual…since when? _

"Actually, I'm a bit tired so…"

"_Please_ and it's only 6:00!" He says, although his tone makes it sound final.

"Fine, whatever" I mumble, taking a seat at the table. Miss Ra-…no wait _Natalie_, resumes her cooking in the kitchen. _That's my job…_I suddenly feel very possessive over the cooking, after all I've been doing it for him for four years.

"So, Natalie tells me you have been keeping your own secrets. Please do tell me about this Lightwood boy!"

I glare at her, _she has no right_!

"There's nothing to say" I retort, clenching my hands into fist under the table, in an attempt to control my anger. He chuckles. _Oh how much I want to punch something right now…preferably his face. _

"Oh I think there is…how old is he? Are you being safe? How long have you been together? Why didn't you tell me?" _Oh gosh, please stop. Please, someone make him stop…_

"Why didn't _I _tell _you_? You're just trying to cover up your own mistakes" I scoff.

His eyes flash in annoyance.

"I'm not happy about the lack of information you are giving me and anyway you are too young for _boyfriends._" He says it like it tastes sour.

"Yeah? I'm _seventeen, _dad. And maybe _I'm _not happy with you for not telling me you're doing, the angels knows what, with my P.E teacher. Who still _teaches me at school!" _

I hear a crash as _Natalie _drops a pan onto the floor. Dad immediately gets up and helps her clear up the mess, before taking a seat again and resuming his cold stare.

"We are not doing anything different to any normal couple"

"Yeah right." I snort.

"In fact, I should be asking you the same question"

"I don't want to talk about it"

He smiles triumphantly.

"Then, we won't discuss my relationship any further"

I scowl and start making patterns on the table.

"Dinner's ready!" Natalie announces overenthusiastically and brings the food over to the table. I'll never admit it, but it looks good.

"Thank you, Natalie. This looks lovely" He says, kissing her. _Kill me now. _He raises an eyebrow at me.

"Thanks" I mumble, barely audible.

The rest of the night is _torture_! I have to witness all the couple stuff with my _dad _and my _P.E teacher. _By the New Year's countdown, I'm nearly delusional with exhaustion. To top the whole evening off, Natalie is staying the night. Interpret that however you want! I decide to call Jace to preserve my insanity. He picks up after a few rings.

"Hello?" He sounds tired

"Hey, Jace. It's Clary. I_ really_ need to talk to someone or I'm going to go crazy" I don't let him say a word as I rant to him about my awful evening. When I finish there's silence.

"Jace? Say something!"

"It's just…Miss Ravenscar and your dad? That's….absolutely disgusting"

"I know right!?"

"School is going to be very awkward"

"Tell me about it"

"You hang in there until school, I can't wait to see you"

"Alright, love you"

"Love you too" He hangs up the line.

_Why me is it always me? _

**Mwhaha! I know this is a mean chapter, but P.E lesson's are gonna be very interesting indeed…**


	17. Embarassing Excursion

"Clary, Clary, Clary, Clary, Clary…"

"What?" I say with my eyes still closed.

"Get up" A masculine voice replies.

"No I refuse to go to school…" I mumble, pull my covers up around me and start falling back asleep.

"Clary, get up!" The voice says more urgently.

"My bed will get jealous if I leave him…"

"Your boyfriend will be more annoyed if you don't get out of bed" He says, trying to pull the covers off my bed. I wrestle with them, opening my eyes in the process to see Jace trying to get me out of bed. He wins the fight and my covers fly off the bed, Mr. Schnuffles also goes flying across the room.

"You were sleeping with Mr. Schnuffles weren't you?" Jace asks, smirking at me. Alas, it is too early for mundane things like blushing.

"So what if I was?" I groan, sitting up.

"Nothing…" Jace replies, still smirking

"Why are you in my bedroom anyway?" I ask him

"We're going to be late and you didn't meet me at my bike " He points out.

"Urgh!" I moan and stand-up to face him.

"Okay you have 10 minutes to get ready or I drag you to school in whatever state I find you" He announces, leaving my bedroom. I throw on some clothes and glance in the mirror, _that'll have to do. _I grab my bag and leave my room, Jace smiles when he sees me.

"Much better" He says ruffling my hair.

"I thought we were going to be late?"

"We are" He says looking at his watch. I grab a granola bar as Jace drags me by the hand out of the house. He starts the bike in a hurry and I barely have time to put my helmet on.

"Hey, why didn't my dad see you?" I ask him when the bike stops at a traffic light.

"He wasn't at home, must've left before you did"

"He could've woken me up…" I grumble into Jace's shoulder.

We arrive just as the bell goes-off, announcing the start of the first lesson. At least its art and Luke isn't likely to be too annoyed. We race off to class hand in hand, arriving only two minutes late, but I'm definitely out of breath.

"Sorry we're late Mr. Garroway!" I greet Luke. He looks up from his book.

"Take a seat, but try to be early next time" He simply states, before returning to his book. I gather up my paint supplies, starting to get to work on my angel painting. I found more of those runes Jace told me about so I could add them into the painting. Jace is doing his own pastel work (which I drew the whole sketch for). Now and then I'd feel pressure on my arm, as Jace decides to draw things. My arm now says

_**I 3 Jace Lightwood, the sexiest man alive **_

_**I hate **_(crossed out and replaced by me)_**...love ducks **_

His arm now has splotches of paint and:

_**I have the biggest ego**_

_**I 3 Mr. Schnuffles **_

People on the other tables kept giving us the strangest looks, as they heard laughter and saw the carnage that we left behind. I spend the whole of break trying to wash the writing off my arm because I have P.E next lesson. It's still there, but its just fainter than before. I sigh and follow my class into the changing rooms.

"So…how are things with Jace?" Izzy asks. I roll my eyes.

"Good and what about Simon?" I raise an eyebrow suggestively.

"We're cool…"

"Does he have to explain his geeky references every second?"

"Nah, I _usually _know what he's on about. Well, most of the time"

I finish shoving on my black P.E shorts and grey polo shirt, following Izzy out of the changing rooms. The others are already in the gym with us, it appears that the guys and girls are going to have lessons together today. Jace grins when he sees me.

"Hey Flame"

"Hey Ducky"

Jace picks up my arm, reading the faint words he put on me earlier.

"I'm offended that you tried to rub this off! See I've kept mine!" He says, displaying his very obvious paint splattered arms.

"Yeah, well you don't have 'Jace Lightwood is the sexiest man alive' on your arm"

"No, I don't but I should" He says with a wink. Someone's ball comes flying past us and Jace catches it, looking for the thrower.

"Jace! Pass the ball to me!" Jordon yells.

"NO! GIVE IT TO ME!" Izzy yells back.

"To me, to me!" Simon shouts.

"Who's ball is it?" Jace asks.

"MINE!" They all yell in unison.

"Guys against girls it seems" Jace mutters throwing it to Jordon. I join in, adding to the noise. I grab the ball, about to pass when Jace comes up behind me and tackles me for the ball. His strong arms start grabbing the ball and I eventually drop the ball into his hands. He triumphantly passes to Simon.

"Listen up!" Miss Starkweather yells, trying to get our attention. We ignore her as usual and keep up our game. Jace picks me up and swings me out of the way, catching and throwing the ball with his free hand.

"LISTEN UP!" A very familiar masculine voice booms, the whole class freezes and looks towards the sound. My dad is standing next to _her _in his Judo uniform. I nudge Jace and he slowly removes his arms from my waist, where they were still attached from the game.

"Alright! Now I have your attention! My name is Mr. Morgenstern and I will be teaching you the art of self defence" He introduces himself. I groan and everyone else looks excited, most heads are turned in my direction, _the genius' have discovered who my father is! _

"I am a master in the arts of Judo, Kung-fu and Karate. Self defence is a compression of all the fighting arts. I will demonstrate how to attack and mainly how to defend yourself against an attack. Now, Clarissa and I will go through some of the basics with you" He says, looking at me. I groan and reluctantly move towards him. _Why is the world so cruel!? _I stand in front of him on the safety mat.

"I will be the attacker and Clarissa will be the defender." _Yay! It's my favourite beat-up Clary time!_

"First we will demonstrate how to block a punch" Without warning he throws a punch at me and I instinctively bring my arms up to block it. We go through various moves that involve me jumping, ducking and blocking. He goes through things slowly so I don't have to move very fast. The whole class are watching intently and I can feel Jace's eyes on me in particular.

"Now that we have gone through the basics I will ask you to practice together, in partner of the same gender please" _There goes any hope of fighting with Jace. _The class filter on to different mats. "Miss Starkweather will go around and give you advice. At the end, me and Clarissa might demonstrate how a real fight is done"

The class are buzzing with excitement, whilst I'm dying from embarrassment, what if I get hurt? That's going to be _so _embarrassing!

"Okay Clary, double speed" Dad says turning back to me, before throwing me into the deep end. I narrowly avoid being knocked out multiple times, although I do manage injure dad a bit.

"You've been out of practise" He states, once he's floored me _again_.

"Well, it's been a while" I say, getting up.

I throw another punch and he grabs my arm, he notices the writing and twists my arm to read it.

"_Jace Lightwood is the sexiest man alive?_ I thought I raised you to higher standards than this!"  
I blush deeply.

"He drew it on me!"

He scans the room and studies Jace who is having a full-blown fight with Alec.

"I don't trust that boy"

"Well I do"

"Fine. We'll make a deal, you put up with Natalie and I'll put up with _him_"

"Fine" I say with gritted teeth. He simply takes my arm and throws me other his shoulder.

"That's not fair!" I complain.

"Life's not fair"

The P.E lesson turns into a form of torture as I am floored by my dad more times then I can count. When it comes to the end of the lesson all the class are buzzing with glee, they must've had a better time than me.

"I am pleased that you all seemed to enjoy the lesson" Dad addresses them. A chorus of Yes' fill the air.

"As promised we will demonstrate what a fight looks like once trained for longer. Don't feel disappointed at your progress today, I have been personally training Clary since she was six, so you can't expect to become an expert over night!"

He then goes into fighting stance and I mirror him. I try to block out the audience as I block his first punch. My brain becomes a series of logical movements, he kicks I duck, he punches I deflect. I throw a punch at him and he grabs my arm, throwing me over his shoulder. I slam into the ground_, yay! He won again! _Dad offers me a hand and the audience cheer. The bell rings and the class filter out, I am about to follow when dad stops me.

"I forgot to tell you that I'm leaving for a military training week today. I trust you will take care of the house for me"

"I will"

_Yeah! A whole WEEK without him! _

Everyone seems to be in love with Valentine, all the girls were saying how lucky was to have him as my dad. At least they've never seen him stoned. Although to be honest I actually like the new dad, even if Natalie comes along as well, he's still behaving more like he used to. I arrive late to the usual bench.

"Hey Clary! You were so cool! Doing all that karate stuff!" Izzy greets me.

"Yeah man it was awesome!" Jordon joins in.

Jace simply pats the bench beside him, I sit down next to him.

"Nice to know my girlfriend can keep me out of trouble" He says kissing my forehead.

"I need your dad's autograph!" Izzy continues.

"Urgh! Guys stop!" I cry.

"What!?" They all answer

"It's not _that _amazing. He beat me anyway"

"Not cool!? It's awesome!"

I groan my way through compliments for the first half of lunch. I'm just staring out into the distance when I see Amaranta running out the corner of my eye. Intrigued, I watch her run along, until I see Jonathon and his cronies chasing her. I frown and start to make my way towards her. Jonathon appears to be threatening her… I start to sprint as another boy also comes to her aid, it's the sparkles kid. He moves her out the way and appears to be talking them out of something. I stop and hide around the nearest corner.

"What's going on?" Jace asks from behind me. He must've followed me as well.

"Not entirely sure"

"What'd she do to you?" I hear sparkles saying.

"She kicked me!" Jonathon replies

"Did you deserve it?"

"Shut up, sparkle freak. I don't answer to your kind"

"What? Is it because you're afraid to admit something?"

I hear a slam and a yelp. I step out, the kid is being strangled by a livid Jonathon. I grab his collar and yank him off the kid. Jonathon takes my arm from his collar and twists it.

"What're _you _doing here?"

"Saving him from being strangled" I gesture to the kid who is now positioned in front of Amaranta, but behind Jace.

"It's none of your business, _little_ sister"

I scoff.

"Because you behave so maturely, _big_ brother"

His face contorts and he slams me into the wall.

"Hey!" Jace calls and drags him back away from me.

"Just leave" I say to Jonathon. Jace lets him go and he narrows his eyes.

"This isn't over" He says and he stalks off with his mates. I let out a breath I that wasn't aware I was holding.

"Are you okay?" I address both of them

"I'm fine" The kid says. Amaranta doesn't say anything, she just runs away. I decide against following her.

"What's your name anyway?" Jace says to him.

"Magnus. Magnus Bane. You're the blue eyed boys friends aren't you?"

"Yes" I say, interested

"Give him my number" He says, holding out a note and skipping off.

"That was special" I say to Jace.

"You can say that again" Jace says, putting his arm on my shoulder and leading me back to the table.

"Jace?"

"Yeeeees"

"Dad's going away, can you stay at mine tonight?"

"Sure"

I decide to take Jace to the supermarkets with me and it's probably the worst idea I've ever had. Jace seems to enjoy racing down the aisles with the trolley, scattering mothers in his wake.

"Claaaaary"

"What?" I say, browsing the dairy section.

"I'm bored"

"Go fetch the milk then"

He comes hopping back with six cartons of milks balanced on different body parts, one on his head, two on each arm and one on a foot.

"Seriously?"

"The lady requested milk"

He says loading them into the trolley.

"I am _never _taking you out again"

He gives me his best puppy eyes.

"So we're never going on a date again?"

"I wouldn't call this a date"

"Oh I dunno, when you're married the husband only ever gets taken on dates like these, I may as well get used to it"

I roll my eyes and he quickly gets distracted by the movie section.

"Can we watch one of these tonight?" he asks.

"Sure, pick one"

He picks out The Hunger Games. When we pass the baby aisle I see Jace's eyes glint mischievously.

"Clary, there's so many choices for the new baby!" He practically yells.

"Jace, shut up!" I hiss as all the woman turn and start judging us. He picks up a bag of nappies.

"Do you think these will fit little Jimmy!?"

More heads turn, I go an even deeper shade of red.  
"Jace!"

"What! I just want it all to be perfect, even if the baby isn't mine! I still can't believe you cheated on me!" He starts breaking into fake sobs, making this as dramatic as possible. I drag Jace out into the pasta section.

"What was that!?"

He starts laughing.

"Your face!"

"You just announced to a bunch of judgemental middle aged woman, that see me here every week, that we've got a baby!"  
He tries to be more serious.

"I'm sorry, but come on that was priceless"

I huff and turn away. A few aisles later, can't remember how, but we start passionately kissing in the cereal section. Just my luck, the exact same woman from before give us dirty looks.

When we finally get to the apartment, I flop down onto the sofa.

"Mental note: Never take Jace to the supermarket"

"Aww! Don't pretend you didn't enjoy it!" Jace says, putting on the DVD. He comes and joins me under the blanket. At the really emotional scene, I glance up at Jace and see he is also crying.

"What? Real men can cry!" He says, when he notices me staring.

"I know" I say snuggling closer to him. I fall asleep with Jace's arms around me, completely and utterly content.


	18. Sick Sebastian

**Thank you anyone who is reading this! Sorry this is a bit later than I usually update, but I have been tweaking the ending so it's better!**

**Disclaimer: Blah blah I have no rights**

I woke up to my ringtone playing really loudly, confused I go on a wild hunt for my phone and find it cowering underneath a pillow. I look back at the sofa and see Jace sprawled out fast asleep. I smile, but it soon turns to a frown as I read the text message that I've been sent.

_**You said I could call you if I needed help. Please can you come quickly, I'm on Fitz Street and I don't know who else to call.- Amaranta **_

"JACE WAKE UP!" I yell, practically jumping on Jace to get his lazy butt of the sofa.

"What?" He mumbles, his voice muffled by a pillow. I yank out from his head, he groans and sits up.

"What was that for!?"

"To wake you up!"

"I heard a kiss wakes up the majority of sleeping beauties and I think I fall into that category"

I smile half heartedly

"What's wrong?" He asks, concerned.

"I need to you to drive me to Fitz Street"

"Fitz Street? Why would you want to go _there?" _He says it like he hates the place.

"Where is it?"

"A very dodgy part of the city, so why would you want to go?"

I bite my lip.

"Amaranta, that girl I once helped, I gave her my number and she just texted me"

I show him the text and it's his turn to frown.

"Are you sure it's safe?"

"It's no safer for her"

"Fine, come on"

We reach a very dirty and scary looking part of town and I start wondering whether this was such a good idea. I kick a can out of my way and shiver as I walkdown the alley. It reminds me too much of what happened to my mum. Jace's hand envelops mine and I'm grateful for the comfort. We reach the end of the alley and I can't see anyone there, only dirty looking apartments and maybe a few rats. I turn to go when I hear a cough. I swivel around and see bright green eyes staring at me through the gloom of the alley.

"You came" She says with a hoarse throat.

"Of course" I assure her. Her eyes shift towards Jace and she appears to be sizing him up. I notice when she moves towards the light that her clothes are dirty and she has multiple bruises and scars. She looks around nervously.

"Come with us, I'll help you"

She slowly nods and I gently lead her towards the car. Thankfully we took Alec's car and not Jace's motorbike. Amaranta still looked petrified the whole way home, when we do get home she looks around in surprise.

"You have a nice place"

I look around, my home has never really been that special, it's not expensive or impressive like Jace's. It makes me wonder what kind of home she lives in. I showed her where the bathroom was so she could clean up and grabbed some spare clothes, we were about the same height anyway.

"We don't even know who she is" Jace says, wrapping his arms around my waist, in the kitchen whilst Amaranta is having her shower.

"I know, but it won't hurt to find out"

"I don't know….she seems really odd"

"Don't judge her! We don't know anything about her!" I say turning around to scold Jace.

"Sorry, I just don't trust people easily"

"That's okay"

We watch TV whilst we wait for her to sort herself out. When I hear the door creak open, I turn around to look at her. She looks a lot better without the dirt, she is dressed in my hoodie and jeans, with long damp black hair . You can see a very obvious black eye and a few cuts along her face.

"Do you want any painkillers or something?"

"No, I'm fine" She replies awkwardly as her stomach rumbles loudly. We all help make lunch, Jace is doing is best to lighten up the mood and I'm grateful for it. I can't help but notice Amaranta's eyes dart around the room, like she's expecting someone to jump out at her. After ages, we can finally sit down and eat our lunches. The atmosphere gradually becomes less awkward as Amaranta relaxes around us more.

We are playing an ordinary card game when the door is thrown open dramatically. I glance up at my annoying brother and his even more annoying friend Sebastian.

"What do _you _want?" I ask, annoyed.

"Aww, don't be like that. I just want to see you that's all!"

"No, tell me"

"Fine, I heard dad's gone. I'm annoyed you didn't tell me actually, I thought th-"

He stops suddenly as his eyes rest upon Amaranta, who is sitting rigid in her seat.

"What on earth are _you_ doing here?" He yells and rounds on me. "Why did you invite that...that _thing_ inside _our _house!?"

"Thing? She's a human being, I was being decent and helped I her!"  
"People like her don't need our help"

"What did she do to you?"

Jonathan was about to open his mouth again when Sebastian stopped him.

"It's none of your business, it's between me and my mates."

Jace snorts.

"Sorry Verlac but what _mates_?" Jace asks innocently.

"Is this a charity thing, Clary? Do you purposefully invite all the people I _hate _into my home?" Jonathon scolds me yet again.

"If you don't like it, then you get out!"

"No. We've got stuff to do"

"Then go do it!"

"Fine, but _she _goes" He says, pointing to Amaranta.

"No, she stays"

He growls, but stalks off into his bedroom with Sebastian following behind. I turn back to the others to see Jace looking mildly irritated and Amaranta looking intently at something on her phone, her fingers flying across the screen wildly.

We don't see Sebastian for the rest of the afternoon and we actually have quite a lot of fun, even if not all our company is welcome. Jace has to leave before dinner, as Maryse has given him a new curfew. I was left alone as Amaranta was calling someone very important in my room; I was curious but didn't ask who it was. I go and fetch a glass of water as Sebastian comes out of my brother's bedroom and raises his eyebrows at me.

"What's a beautiful girl like you doing all alone?"

"Go away Sebastian" I say, putting down my glass.

"No. I don't know what your problem is with me"

"How about you're my brother's very annoying friend?"

He looks genuinely hurt.

"Don't you see it Clary?"  
"See what!?"  
"We're made for each other"

_Okay, he is losing his marbles…_

"I have a _boyfriend _Sebastian, so obviously I don't like you"

He sneers.

"Yeah. You choose that Lightwood git over me?"

"I never had to choose"

He turns angry and starts towards me. I instinctively back away.

"You just need proof, you don't know what you're missing"

"I. Have. A. boyfri-" I start to say, but Sebastian cuts me off by crushing his cold lips against mine. I struggle, he is one _very_ bad kisser. I try to push him away, but he just slams me back into the counter-top, trapping me against him. When he starts using his vile tongue I bite down hard on it, making him pull away. I can tell he is about to do something bad to me, when suddenly he is ripped away from me and is punched in the temples. He goes out cold, I look at my saviour Amaranta, who is looking shocked and disgusted.

"YOU PUNCHED MY BEST FIREND!" Jonathon yells from his bedroom doorway.

"HE ATTACKED YOUR SISTER!" She yells back, with surprising ferocity.

"Stop looking for excuses" He says, and before I can act, he drags her out by the ear and locks the front door behind her.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?"

"She just assaulted Sebastian, Clary. Isn't it obvious, or are you too blind to see it? I should have kicked her out before this happened"

"You don't even know her!"  
"Yes I do, Clary. I know _exactly_ who her family is!"

"Yes, but do you know_ her?_"  
"I know enough. Now, would you like to help me recover my friend after _your friend_ attacked him"

"No, it's his fault"

"He couldn't have attacked you; you're just lying to cover up for your _bestie_"

"I'm not!"

"I don't believe you, Sebastian is my friend, he would never do anything to you. Besides, he actually likes you"

"Depends how you define attack"

"He didn't do anything Clary"

"He did"

"Stop being such a child"

I decide to leave Jonathon and Sebastian to wreck the apartment by themselves, besides I am _not _going to be there when Sebastian wakes up. _Sebastian,_ that boy is sick, who kisses their best friends' sister (who already has a boyfriend)!? I took refuge at Luke's for the rest of the week, he was happy for the company and claims he gets a little lonely. I don't blame him, he hasn't got a family or many friends that I know of. At school Amaranta avoids my gaze, I would've thought she'd be happier, but she just seems even more paranoid. I can't work out why; all I've ever done is help her.! Some people are just a riddle that I can't seem to solve…

**Thank you for reading this! I'd love to know some of your theories on what Amaranta is hiding, so please feel free to review! **


	19. Chapter 19

**Thanks for reviewing etc. **

**Caitylnn: Your idea is great and much appreciated, however I don't think I can include it. Sorry, although similar do events happen…**

"All hail Clarissa Morgenstern of the great cheese sandwich" Magnus announces with a bow, presenting me with my sandwich that Jace had been playing catch with during lunch, I'd long since given up trying to retrieve it. Magnus has become one of my best friends since he announced his relationship with Alec, we're friends because come on, who doesn't like a bit of sparkle?

"Thank you, sir Magnus" I smile and turn to glare at Jace "Some people respect the delicates of a cheese sandwich"

He drops down to his knees dramatically.

"Oh great mistress, how can I ever pay back your love?"

"You can start by not being an egoistical idiot?" I suggest ruffling his hair.

"Impossible, you ask great things of me. Alas I shall damage my pride for you and stoop to such levels as _modesty" _

"I fear that may be above your very nature. Off with his head!"

Fortunately for Jace, the bell rang announcing his lucky escape. He stands up again and winks at me.

"Saved by the bell!"

"You won't be so lucky next time"

He throws his arm around my shoulder, I lean into him on our way to the lockers until I realise that his arm is conveniently taking my locker keys from my pocket. I slap his hand away.

"Keys, now" I demand, stretching my hand out to retrieve them.

"Aw come on, you're no fun!" He complains opening my locker for me so he can completely ignore my outstretched hand. I roll my eyes and grab my gym kit. I glance at the calendar taped to my locker door. The big red circle on today announces that it is yet again my mother's birthday. I'm convinced it comes around faster every year.

"You alright?" My concerned boyfriend asks from behind me.

"I'm fine" I lie, slamming the locker shut again.

He doesn't seem convinced.

"I remember you know. Course I do, it was the first day I met you, boy I was shy back then and it didn't helped that you were so pretty"

"You seriously thought that? When we were, what, thirteen?"

"Hey! I know you thought the same thing! I saw it in your _eyes"_

"Fine, if it makes you feel any better"

"It does. I'll come visit with you tonight if you want?"

"You don't have to"

"I want to"

"Thanks"

To anyone listening in, they wouldn't have a clue what we were talking about, but of course we both do. We arrive at the changing rooms and have to depart our ways. We have P.E separate now, so I have to suffer Natalie without him. We've been doing volleyball recently. I'm not going to lie, I'm rubbish at it. Me and Isabelle are on a team against Kaelie and Helen, one of her cronies. They're winning by a few points, mainly because I was distracted.

"What's the problem Morgenstern? Don't like losing to me?" She jibes, taking her serve.

"Shut up kaelie, if you know what's good for you" I seethe whacking the ball back to her.

"Having anger issues? It's okay they have centres for people like you"

"Well that's nice, but their aren't any centres that would take _you _on, they'd take one look and run away"

She snorts and misses the ball, another point to us…

"Jonathon doesn't agree, he's quiet attracted be me"

"For the nights maybe, but I bet he can't stand you when he can actually see your face"

"At least he didn't leave me"

I'm bored and irritated by Kaelie and so I 'accidentally' whack her full on in the face with the ball. She flies back and skids along the floor. Natalie or rather Miss Ravenscar blows her whistle to end our game.  
"What happened?" She asks, helping kaelie to her feet.

"She deliberately hit me! _She _hit me!" She practically screams, pointing at me.

"Is this true?" She asks Helen, who just nods vigorously. She turns towards me.

"Alright, you sit out for the rest of the lesson. I'll have a discussion about this act of violence later" She demands, pointing to the bleachers.

"Whatever, _butternut_" I say as I pass her, using the pathetic nickname that dad uses. To be honest, I'm glad that I get the chance to sit down, because if kaelie had hounded me any more, I would've broken down. I was already on the edge today as it was. I sunk down on a row higher up and put my head in my hands, silently letting the tears pool in the bottom of my hands. I feel the bench sink down next to me.

"Are you alright?" Miss Ravenscar asks, making her the second person to ask me that today. _Congratulations._

"I'm fine" I lie again, wiping my eyes and turning to face her, hoping that my face isn't too red, I hadn't cried too violently anyway.

"Mmm. Did you hit Kaelie?"

"Not really. It was with a ball, doesn't count as a hit really"

"I mean, did you mean to?"  
"Yes" I sigh, what's the point in lying anyway.

"Why?"

"She was saying mean things and today is not a good day"

"Just try and ignore them, learn to control your feelings"

I scoff.

"Easy for you to say, she wasn't exactly saying anything _your_ family"

She frowns a bit at that.

"What kind of things was she saying?"

"It doesn't matter"

"Okay…Anyway, I was meaning to talk to you about Val. I haven't seen him today, he isn't at work and he hasn't returned my calls. Do you know where he is?"

The end of school bell rings and I stand up to leave.

"If you knew my dad like I do, you wouldn't need to ask" I say, stalking off to locate the changing rooms.

We walk hand in hand through the graveyard gates, and walk past all the familiar scenery. Jace stoops by a patch of familiar flowers and picks a bunch of them.

"These beauties are Imogen Herondale's doing. She planted these to remember my parents, these are from the same seeds as the flowers I gave you all those years ago"

I scan the gravestone near and see Celine and Stephen Herondale etched in marble gravestones with an angel holding a cup and those familiar rune things swirling around.

"Hey, those are the symbols like the ones on the necklace"

"Yeah I know, my dad was a very religious man, he believed in angels and the power of those marks."

"Do you? Believe in the angels?"

"Maybe, but I've never seen one"

"I have" I say, looking straight in his eyes to prove my point. He smirks slowly.

"You're finally accepting my stunning angelic beauty!"

I roll my eyes, it's something I do a lot around him. He smirks wider and drags me along again, in the direction of my own families patch. I had a few relatives also in the same area, my grandparents died in a fire before I was born. I spend only a few minutes at the gravestone this time, just silently remembering her rather than making my usual speech.

On the way home I pass Flatbush Avenue, but I'm sad to find that the friendly homeless man is gone. I hope he's with his family again. Jace kisses me goodbye at the door and leaves to take Max to his scout group. I smile at his golden head as it descends the stairs, wondering how I managed to snatch a guy like him. Hot, but with real emotion and compassion. When I open the apartment door I expect to find it empty. Instead I find a worried looking P.E teacher perched on the sofa, she jumps up when she sees me.

"Clary! I'm getting really worried now, your dad should be home by now. I don't understand why he's not answering any of my calls and you said I should know, but he never told me so-"

I put my hand up to stop her.

"Don't worry, he won't be home till…" I check my watch "around 10 or 11, it differs depending on how drunk he is"

She looks at me in shock, I just shrug and dump my school stuff in my room. I throw myself down onto the sofa and change the channel until I find Sherlock. Miss Ravenscar tries to talk to me, but I ignore her and pretend to be engrossed in the programme. Eventually she gives up, but her hands are still fumbling in her lap. I feel awful, should I comfort her? But surely she should know about today? It's not my fault that dad doesn't tell her everything.

Around dinner time I get up and start to make dinner, to my surprise she silently comes and joins me. Thankfully she doesn't get in my way, she just quietly helps me. We eat in awkward silence and I put dad's plate in the fridge as usual, although he's rarely ever sober enough to eat. As predicted a loud thump could be heard at around the 10pm mark. Natalie moves towards the door and I let her open it. Sometimes he's too wasted to stand, that I can deal with. However sometimes he's on the verge of violence and shouts all his anger at the world, he's trashed the house countless times before. I see immediately that he's the latter. I sigh, of course this has to happen with my P.E teacher as a witness. He storms straight passed Natalie, not even noticing her as he moves towards the living room. I drag Natalie behind the sofa, out of harms way.

"Don't. Just don't do anything. He'll get tired after a while, I can deal with this it's okay." I reassure her as we watch Valentine smash a mirror to pieces with his fist. He then throws all the pictures down from the mantelpiece. I sprint and save a precious family photo before it can be damaged. I look down with teary eyes at the photo of our happy smiley faces from the picture. Valentine notices me and his jaw sets in the usual way it does before he's about to mouth off to me. He unclenches it and unleashes a bunch of profanities that would have got _me_ kicked out of school all together.

"It's all your fault. You were there for goodness sake, why didn't you stop it? Why didn't you do anything?" He starts off yelling, but towards the end he breaks down and his angry façade fades. He slumps down to the floor, I crouch down and wrap my arms around him.

"I know" I whisper, before gently leading him towards his bedroom. He falls asleep straight away when he reaches the bed. He would look peaceful, apart from his bleeding knuckles and his tear streaked cheeks. Natalie stands shocked in the door way.

"There's a medical kit in the bathroom" I hint to her and she disappears. I rub my already puffy eyes, I hate it when he falls apart like this. When she arrives with the kit, I care for his wounds and turn the lights off upon leaving the room. Natalie looks shell shocked.

"What happened? Why is he like this now?"

I sigh, I need to tell her.

"My mother was murdered in front of me when I was twelve. That's why I don't really like you, you're replacing her. It's her birthday today, he always goes off to drown his sorrows. He used to do it everyday, but then you came along and he's changed. I think he really loves you."

She nods.

"I assumed your mother died during childbirth, your father never mentions her. I'm sorry, I was wrong. I thought that you and Jace made up your PTD to bunk off and I know Val has it, so I assumed you made it up. I never looked at your file, I meant to, but I was busy. I'm an ex-army sergeant as well, I know what flashbacks are like and I'm so sorry I never believed you. Seeing someone being murdered at twelve? That's awful and I'm so sorry Clary, forgive me"

"It's okay, I wasn't exactly sunshine and roses to you anyway. Shall we call it a truce?"

"Yeah."

And we shake on it.

"You've been looking after Val for how long?"

"Since I was twelve"

"I'll do it now, if you want"

"Thank you" I say, it feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. She leaves the house, by the time I clear up all the broken fragments of glass, it is well past midnight. I sigh and am about to head off to bed when I hear muffled footsteps and voices. I freeze, who could that be at this time of night...? Suddenly the door bursts open and around five Hoodie-clad boys' storm into my apartment. I back away from the door, as far away from them as possible. One of the hoods turns to face me and I scream. Almost as soon as I open my mouth, I am flung against the wall and a massive hand is pressed over my mouth.

"We all thought you'd be asleep. Someone been partying?" He sneers, as he says this his Hoodie falls back and I see dark hair. _Sebastian? _No, Sebastian doesn't have green eyes. I lash out and kick him in his manly areas, I duck out of his grip and make my way for the door. Another boy grabs my arm, I swing and punch him in the face. The fight that ensues in short lived as I am exhausted and outnumbered. The same green eyes guy, grabs me by the back of the neck and forces my arms behind my back.

"You're quite the fighter" He says, his hot breath unnervingly close to my neck.

"What do you want!?"

"Jonathon Morgenstern's sister and as far as I know, she is you." I shiver, what has Jonathon got me into now!? I don't get the chance to ask anymore question as I feel an immense pain in my forehead and I slowly fall back into the dark abyss of unconsciousness…

**Revieeeeeew**


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